


Pleasure's Pet

by xeveningx



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-05-21 01:02:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 262,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6032446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xeveningx/pseuds/xeveningx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lost and stranded in a dream too real, Reina can hardly believe what she's gotten herself stuck in. Now she's leashed down in Hell and the Devil of Pleasure's handling her leash. She got herself into this mess and she's determined to get out. If it's a world of eat or be eaten then she would rather die than not bite the dreaded hands that feed her now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**_One_ **

**Chance Encounter**

* * *

 

For the first time in a while I wanted to be left alone.

The revving of the engine from my truck was the only noise that comforted me now. The radio didn't work and my iPod was stuffed somewhere inside my duffle bag. Having run out of my house that quickly didn't leave me enough time to pack much of what I wanted. If anything inside that bag were only the necessary clothes I thought I would need and a couple of treasured items from home. Besides that it was practically empty. The countryside in Boston was chilly this time of December and the few streets that led to town were covered in a thin layer of ice.

As careful as I was or could have been didn't matter when I lost control of the truck. It swerved to the side and into the woods. There at least I managed to gather a bit of traction to gain control back. Or so I thought until the truck tipped over and began to spin. My body crashed back and forth along with the metal cage that I was now encased in. My head wracked back and forth along with everything else. My head hit the upper side of the ceiling and a terrible ringing came to my head along with a pain.

After an eternity, the truck came to a stop on its back. My vision was blurry and my ears were ringing. When I could finally move, my trembling hands reached to my seatbelt and unlatched it. My body fell painfully on the ceiling and I let out a groan. Feeling my way around, I find the latch on the door and try to open it in vain. Clicking my tongue, I muster what I have of my strength and kick open the driver's door. Once it's open, I crawl out of the car and drag myself out into the snow.

The woods were quiet for being the middle of the night. Usually birds or insects were heard around them. But then again, I couldn't hear or see very well. The cold air and the snow felt incredible against my bruised body. It was soothing.

"Try not to lose your head there."

The voice that reaches my ears is crisp and clear. It's a man and his voice echoed in my head with a nice timbre and lilt to it. The footsteps that I hear come closer to me I assume to be his. Before long a shadow obscures my already blurry vision and a dark blur stands over me like a cold and dark angel.

"W-Who—" It's hard to speak. My throat burns and my whole body hurts with every word.

A hearty laughter that reminds me of my brother's rings through my ears. This one seems even more so like warm syrup, sweet and mellow. But the words that follow are as cold as can be. "Does it matter? You're dying."

"The...road—"

"You swerved out from the iced road. Jumped quite a distance. Frankly, I'm amazed you remained conscious."

"Ambu...lance."

"The old couple that just saw you careen from their window has already called." His shadow leaned back and out of my sight before it spoke again. "Oh, they're actually pretty close." The shadow came over me once more. "We don't have much time it seems. I'm pretty sure you’re wondering who I am or why I'm just standing here and not helping you."

My voice failed me now and he simply continued. "Well, in reality, I'm the one that will give you the most help!" The shadow looms even closer and I feel a distinct warmth hovering over me. He's so close I can feel the heat from his body. "First, let me tell you a little story. Long ago, a little girl prayed to God for something; she wanted her life to change. So miserable was she that she would rather live a different life than struggle for a better tomorrow." More warmth came over me and I felt a warm air beside my ear. "I'm here to grant your wish, Reina."

_How did he know my name?_

The warmth that had come left just as quickly as before when he spoke again. "I'll give you a few to say goodbye. Enjoy and I'll see you when I see you." His voice echoed before it all disappeared and within those few seconds that the cold air embraced my body, my mind let go and I saw black.

It seemed like I had only taken a nap when I opened my eyes again. My body didn't feel as beat up as before nor did my lungs hurt when I breathed but my head was still pounding. My vision was still blurry but it didn't resemble any night sky that I remember. Instead it was pure white. The first thing that my hearing registered was an annoying beeping that echoed throughout the room.

The next thing I heard was my brother's voice, Jaden, calling out to me gently as ever.

"Rei? Reina, can you hear me?" His voice sounded far away and his image wasn't clear but I knew it was him. When I tried to speak something lodged against my throat. The moment it did I felt like I wanted to throw up. "Don't, Rei. It's helping you breath. Don't speak right now."

More shadows came over me and all were blurry. Above the relieved voice of Jaden, I heard the voices of my parents; my mother's cries and my father's prayers thanking God. But the voice that caught my attention most was hers when she spoke in such a worried voice.

"Rei?" Above the other voices, I heard Kathleen's sweet voice mingle in the air. It always brought me joy to hear her calling my name but now that I heard anguish in it that I had caused all I felt was guilt and remorse. "You're okay, right? You're gonna be okay, right Rei?"

I wanted to speak. I wanted to assure her that everything was going to be all right like many times before. When I tried to though my throat began to react again. Then my panic set in. Jaden tried to calm me down. The beeping became more rapid and more annoying. Why can't they take this out of my throat!? Take it off! More beeping.

"Stop, Reina!"

"Rei!"

_Shut up. I just want this thing off! Let me talk!?_

_"Now, now, Reina. I think this is enough of a farewell."_

What?

"Doctor! Doctor!?" My mother's cries were starting to get muffled like I was under murky water and I was drinking it all in. It was getting even harder to breath. The beeping was getting too fast for me to mind anymore.

_"Say goodbye to this life, Rei. You won't be seeing any of it where you're going."_

The voice of the man from the woods echoed in my head along with the screams of many more people surging into the place. More shadows blocked my view and I felt countless of hands touching me, moving me. One pain took the bothersome thing from my throat and I could finally breathe but all that came in was empty. No air. Nothing.

The last thing I remember was being thankful that the fast beeping stopped and instead was replaced by a single low pitch that lulled me in my mind until I fell asleep.

* * *

 

It was like waking from a nightmare. My breath was caught in my throat when I took the big gulp of air. My eyes shot open and my pupils were burning. It took me a few minutes to gain some composure. My lungs finally got used to the air again and my vision became clearer by the second.

By the time I completely managed to regain myself, I noticed that I was still in the hospital. The room I was in was small and there was not much furniture except for a chair that stood beside my bed. The door exiting the room was to the far side of the other side of my bed. But besides that...

Empty.

I thought my parents would be here. Kat would be worried but she would be forced to go to school. And even if they didn't stay then at least Jaden would have. Jaden came home from his exams; if anybody would have stayed by my side it would have been him.

But there was no one here. I was alone.

Before I could do anything about it, the door opened. Turning my head in that direction, I watched as a nurse came in and gasped at seeing me awake. She hurries over while rambling on.

It seemed that both of us were at a loss for words. Her because I had just woken up and she made haste to check my vitals. Me because...her clothes. I had never been in a hospital before but I knew what a nurse was supposed to look like. And if this wasn't some kind of vintage hospital then I had no idea why the nurse was dressed in such attire.

It was just so...outmoded.

It isn't until I hear her ramble about how long I've been there that I interrupt her. "U-Um, excuse me?" With a sweet smile on her face the nurse turns to me and briefly stops her work. "H-How long did you say I have been here?"

"You've been unconscious for about five days now."

F-Five days?! "You're kidding me."

"I wish I were," she answered with a giggle and pointed at the clock that hung on the wall across from me. "It'll be five days at six, I believe."

"Has my family called in yet?"

If I thought things were weird before nothing compared to the expression that she gave me. "Miss..." She averted my gaze and her lips pursed as if trying to find the words to tell me. Wait, did something happen to them? "Nobody has come in to visit. None have claimed you yet."

"C-Claimed me?"

"You were found by the monastery that's close to the outskirts of town. In fact, they're the ones that are covering your medical charges." She placed her fingers on her cheek as if deep in thought. "They're the charitable kind and since they have the kind of money, they're very hospitable towards the homeless. You must have had a pretty bad accident before they found you, you know. Your head and body were pretty torn up when you were brought here."

"Where is here, exactly?"

"You're in St. Clavell's Hospital. You're in Pavillion town."

P-Pavillion? What's this lady talking about? There's no town with such name anywhere near Boston. And what the hell is this talk about a monastery?!

"Oh, which reminds me!" The nurse took the clipboard she had entered with which she had laid aside and looked into it. "You're still registered without a name. Would you mind giving it to me? It'll be easier to contact your family that way."

It took me a few seconds to realize that she was talking to me and without really thinking it through, I answered with my name. "R-Reina. My name's Reina Amaro."

"Reina Amaro," she pronounced slowly while writing it down on the paper. She smiled after she finished and glanced over her work. "Well, so far you're doing well on recovery Miss Amaro. Any wounds you had have already healed but we'll most likely keep you overnight to make sure you're healthy and that whatever blood loss you suffered didn't cause anemia. So for now try to rest." She gave me another bright smile before she turned to leave.

Okay, now I was more confused than ever. Forget her odd fashion sense, where the hell were my parents? And where the hell was I!?

"Pavillion..." I groaned under my breath while trying real hard to remember if a town with such a name really _did_ exist and I just happened to miss it. No, I knew Boston and its vicinities like the back of my hand. There's no such town. So...where am I?! "I don't get this."

 _Calm down, Reina._ This must be some type of cruel joke. Some sick, _cruel_ joke my family must have gotten the hospital to do. They must be trying to teach me a lesson for driving away in the middle of the night. But even if this _was_ a joke, shit, then they had some awful sense of humor. But then again the nurse said that the monastery _"found me"_. What if that was a part of the joke as well though?

 _Backtrack, Rei. Think. What's the last thing you can remember?_  

Last thing I remember...was hearing Jaden's voice. Yeah, his voice was the first thing I heard when I woke up in the hospital. I remember mom and dad; I remember the doctors struggling after I heard Kat's voice.  
Then...I heard him. The man.

"Him!" The one who found me after the crash. But I can't remember what he was telling me. Damn, all this thinking is just making my head hurt that much more. Sitting up from my bed, I notice that my clothes were taken off after the crash too and replaced by a thin hospital gown. Hurriedly, I went over to the edge of the bed and tried getting up. But when I did an ache on my body coursed through me like a giant stampede. "I've got to—" a groan slips from me when I force myself to stand up. "I've got to get out of here." Ripping the needles stuck up my forearm—they hurt like a motherfucker—I went over to the duffle bag and pick out some dark pants and the plainest shirt I can find before stripping and changing into them. It takes me a few seconds to check what I had in my bag. Not knowing what could happen, I pull out my butterfly knife and put it in my back pocket. Once done I grab everything that I have in the bag, put it over one shoulder while putting the bag on my back, and head to the door.

I know sneaking out of a hospital is bad especially when someone else is paying for my stay, which in my opinion is stupid as hell. Nonetheless, I do my best to walk out without being seen. Someone once told me that it was incredible where people let you go when you walked around like you knew the place. And they weren't wrong. Although I wasn't sure where I was going, the fact that I acted like I did let me walked by staff without raising any flags.

It's not until I'm out of the hospital that I'm positive I must still be in my coma. That or hallucinating from the bunch of medications they surely gave me because there was no way in hell that this place was real. Standing aside so that people could walk by, I stared after them. Their clothes were the first thing that I noted.

Now, I'm no expert in history so don't get me wrong. Even I could be wrong at times but I'm pretty sure that no woman in her right mind would choose to walk around during such warm day as today was in such antiquated clothes. They were in frilly dresses for goodness sake! It's like being stuck in that Cinderella movie but much worse.

And the women weren't the end of the story. The men, at least most of them, were dressed in tuxedos and if not a tux then something that looked like it came out of a crappy play staged in old England. Damn, this wasn't normal. I had to be dreaming. Please, God, just let me still be knocked out in the hospital at Boston. Even having a concussion sounds better than what I'm looking at right now.

Wait. Boston! I need to ask where I am and get back home first. Not being shy about anything right now, I come up to the first people that comes across my field of vision which turns out to be a middle-aged couple taking a stroll. "Excuse me, sir!"

The moment that the hand I reached out to him with touches his arm, he scowls at me before jerking his arm away. "Get your hands off me, you filth."

"Filth?!" My voice raises a full octave at such insult. He doesn't even bother with me and they simply continue on and even when they're getting further away, I can still hear their additional insults towards me. "Well, fucking _excuse_ me."

But my anger doesn't stop after they leave because the people around here make it no easier for it to dissipate. The ones that resembled the couple would do the same as they did and the ones that didn't simply chose to ignore me altogether. Well, hell, what now?

Might as well hit the road and hope to run into a highway out of this old-timed town. Heaving one last sigh, I turn with the intention of leaving until I hear a ruckus not far behind me that makes me look over my shoulder.

"You worthless brat!" The heavyset man that yelled shoved a boy that couldn't be any older than eleven away from himself. From the looks of it, the man was one of the many snobs I kept encountering. "Look at this!" He motioned his hands to the stain of dirt that spotted his clothes. "And it's brand new!"

"I-I'm sorry, sir," the kid stuttered quietly and sloppily got back to a stand. "I wasn't seeing where I was going. It won't happen again."

"You think a damn apology is what I need!?" The yelling was getting louder and he more livid. Really, all over some clothes. But the way this was escalating was really bothering me for some reason. Shit.

_Don't do it, Rei. Hoe, please, don't meddle!_

"You need to be taught a lesson, boy!" The man raised his chubby gloved hand in a menacing threat to the little kid.

**Too late.**

A quick sprint was enough to reach in time to stand between the two and catch the man's wrist before it could connect to the boy's face. He may be fat but that only gave him a little more strength than the usual people. Nothing I probably couldn't handle myself. A cocky smirk comes to my lips before the remark that I can't control slips from them. "And here I thought that big folks were supposed to be jolly."

"W-What did you say!?" His faced flashed in embarrassment and anger but it gave me enough pause to throw his hand away.

Turning slightly to my side, I catch a glance at the boy who hid behind me. "The boy apologized and I'm sure he merely bumped into you. Violence is highly unnecessary in this case."

"W-Who are you to talk to me...?”

His angry shouts are easy for me to tune out and instead I focus on the boy that cowardly hides behind me. "You okay?" I whisper gently letting him know I mean no harm. He nods shyly and suddenly recoils and takes a tight hold of my pants' leg. Almost instantly I knew what that meant.

_Fine, want to dance like that? I'll pick the tune._

Without a second thought, my left hand is already pulling out of my back pocket and I fully intend to fan my knife open to scare him away but I'm caught off guard when another hand stops the trajectory of the one that intended to slap me.

"Now, now. Fighting little kids is such a shameful thing. Especially in the open."

Gravelly. That's the first word that comes to mind when the voice reaches my ears. My eyes follow suit and go along the way of the arm to join it to the rest of the body. What I see before me is a man taller than the XXXL Monopoly guy wanna-be. Much taller. My neck was literally arching upward; he really must be at least a head taller than me. The wavy mess of hair that he had was almost to his nape and the hideous pair of hugely rimmed glasses hid the top half of his face from sight. The clothes he wore clearly said that he wasn't well off but that didn't really matter.

What left me speechless and what had the Monopoly guy trembling in his socks was probably the commanding tone that was veiled by the playful one. When I heard scuffling behind me, my eyes quickly shoot to my side and I see the boy run behind the man to take refuge. Well, he must know him then.

"How 'bout we let this bygone be that. Mm?"

_Translation: Go now or else..._

And it seems Monopoly guy got the point because he simply cursed us and walked quickly away and out of sight. A scoff comes out of me before I put my knife away.

"Goodness, Eeze." At hearing his voice again, I turn to see the man with a friendlier smile now instead of the creepy one from seconds ago. He lays his huge hand upon the boy's—Eeze?—head to ruffle his hair. "Don't get lost again. Too much trouble."

"Mm!" He gives an airy chuckle before turning towards me. When he sees this, the man does the same and scrutinizes me for a couple of seconds before grinning.

"Thanks for helping Eeze, little lady."

My brain had shut off for a few seconds when I heard him giggling so carefree and it takes me another few to repeat his question to myself. Oh, right.

"It was nothing, really," I answer with a smile while I adjust my bag behind me. "Keep him under better watch so that this won't happen again, is all."

"Yeah, that's definitely a given."

The scene makes my chest ache a bit and I think it's nostalgia and guilt from not being with Kat until it isn't just my chest. It's my body then my head and, before I know it, it turns into a splitting headache. The last thing I hear is his chuckle then a concerned 'lady' before everything just goes black.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Two_ **

**Welcome**

* * *

 

Noise.

That's the first thing I recognize. It's muffled but I hear it. When I finally have enough strength to, I open my eyes trying to block away the light that I know will hurt if I see it after just waking up.

Wait...waking up?

My eyes instantly shoot open but I'm shocked to see a pair of baby blue irises staring down at me closely. Way too closely.

Screeching, I can't help but jump back and end up with my back to the wall. Once my vision and brain decide to hold hands and work together, I begin to recognize the boy that sits on a stool and had apparently been watching me sleep.

Shaggy and dirty blonde hair. Baby blue eyes. Medical mask over his mouth.

It was that boy from before, Eeze.

_From before...?_

"I fainted..." My voice is low but he must've heard me since he nodded. Getting up, he quietly goes through the door of the apparent room that I had been sleeping in.

I fainted before. My head and body were hurting like hell. It's then that I remember a few words that the nurse told me. Something about blood loss and possible anemia. I must've passed out from that. But if I had and that boy was here watching over me then—

The creaking of the door opening takes my attention from my current train of thought. The man from before stands in the threshold and only Eeze comes in to stand by my bed.

"Oh, good. Nice to know we didn't bring a stiff back home." He seems to stare at me again before giving out a chuckle. "You're confused. That's all right." He comes into the room but leaves the door open and only stands a few feet away from Eeze. "You fainted on us this afternoon, little lady. You've slept through the day."

Through the day? My eyes scan over the tattered room until I find a window. It's not midday anymore but instead night. The dark starlit sky is the only sign I need for that.

"You...took care of me?"

"Well, yeah. We weren't about to leave a little girl out like that," he pointed out briefly and with a grin. Not comfortable here. I'm not one bit but I can't pinpoint the reason why.

That thought goes away quickly when Eeze comes up closer to me before he speaks. "Dinner's ready." This is the first time that I hear his voice and as expected it's a little on the high side and a little wheezy.

"Dinner?"

"You should have some," the man tells me before he starts walking away. "Eeze said that your stomach didn't stop growling all the time that you slept. Bet you're starving."

She held onto her stomach just a few seconds after said noise came to surface again. I am hungry but...

"Sorry but I'd rather not." Ignoring their looks, I get out from the bed to stand on the side and notice my bag against the wall. Picking it up, I turn to them who only stare in disbelief. "I appreciate that you helped me but I don't want any charity."

"Charity?" The man's shocked tone takes me a bit by surprise and makes me gaze up at him. "Girl, we may be dirt poor but we're still humble. You saved Eeze, here, and  _you_  didn't have a reason to. If anything, we owe you. So if that's what's holding you back, don't let it. And if it bothers you that much just think of it as a reward for a good deed."

_Yeah, right. And no good deed goes unpunished._

"I really don't—"

My sentence ends abruptly when I feel someone tugging at my sleeve. It's Eeze and he's looking up at me with those huge doe-eyes of his. "Won't you stay for dinner?"

Dammit. He knows how to push buttons. He looks too much like Kat and those puppy eyes... A groan escapes me while I rub my neck and give the man one last glance.

_Please don't let this be the one time I get screwed over for being too trusting._

Giving Eeze a small smile, I simply nod. Though I can't see his smile, I can see it reach his eyes. I quickly raise one of my fingers before he raises his hopes too high. "But only for dinner." He nods vigorously again before he takes my hand and guides me away with the man following behind us.

Ugh, people on my back. I hate that. Never liked the feeling of having someone at my back. Good thing I still have my knife in my back pocket. The dining table is literally on the room outside so it's not much of a walk until Eeze shows me to a seat.

Already seated are two other man who already have all the plates placed for dinner, even my own that sits before me. Eeze takes the sit to my left and the thick-glasses guy takes the other side.

"Then let's eat," was what he announced once we were all seated and they started to eat. Gazing down at the food, I was still a bit uncomfortable for barging in like this and so out of the blue but my stomach didn't let me just sit there and touch nothing. So I ended up taking a spoonful of the rice and stew portion that they gave me and ate it. It wasn't half bad, maybe a little bland but nothing a few spices wouldn't have fixed. Whoever made this isn't half bad at cooking.

"So," one of the men that I hadn't met before called out to me with a bright smile. "You're the missy that helped Eeze, huh?" Did everybody here know? "Tyki told us about you. Thanks a lot, missy."

"Yeah, thanks a bunch!" the other jubilated along with the other. "I'm Momo, by the way."

The man before him followed suit. "My name's Clark. And you've already met Eeze and Tyki."

I turn to each in turn trying to put a face to a name. The most prominent at the moment were Eeze and Tyki. The latter man turned my way with a grin on his face. "What 'bout you, little lady?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, your name."

Right. "Um, Reina."

"Queen?" The sudden outburst that Tyki gave surprised me. From the looks of them and the accent they spoke in none seemed Spanish or seemed to know the language.

"You know what it means?"

"It's close to the Portuguese word for it,  _rainha_. _"_

"Tyki's from Portugal so you'd imagine he knows his language pretty well," Clark—I think—spoke up from his already finished dinner. Damn, I wasn't even half done. "But we all wanted to thank you properly, Reina, for what you did for Eeze."

"It's nothing really." She turned to Eeze and smiled at him, "You're lucky having such good brothers."

The laughter that erupted between the three men startled me quite a bit. Once it had died it was Momo who answered my unasked question. "You've got it all wrong, little lady. None of us are related."

"T-That's my bad then," I hastingly apologize for the outburst.

He waved it off. "It's an honest mistake. We're just a group of orphans wandering around to live. So we take care of one another. You get me?"

"Mm." The conversation stifled after that but more idle chatter came after where they chatted amongst themselves or sometimes involved me. After the slightly embarrassing mistake, I wasn't in any mood to talk. It took me most of the time to relax just enough to enjoy some nice company. After an hour went by and Eeze and Clark began to clean up, I began to gather my belongings again.

"You're leaving?" Eeze asked once he came back from the small kitchenette that the little place had.

Nudging the bag behind me, I only give him a half smile. "Yeah. Like I said it's only because of what happened that I stayed. And after you took care of me when I fainted, I'll say we're even."

And they're people who live everyday to work for their daily meals, if they can get any at all. They're scraping by and even so took me in for the day. I seriously thought careless people like that didn't exist anymore.

"But it's dark out." Tyki must've overheard Eeze and I because he pointed out with his thumb towards the window that showed the night sky. "It'd be dangerous for you to wonder around at this time."

Yeah, this was starting to leave the border of careless and into the a very suspicious stage. It seemed that a gentle approach wouldn't work with them. If I wanted to be heard it would seem that I would have to put my foot down a little harder.

My demeanor changes in a second and the tone that I spit out is faked but to them will sound more than serious. "Besides the fact that I despise charity, I don't know jack about any of you. And if you think I'm as idiotic as any other to stay below the same roof as three strangers who're grown men, you better think again."

The silence that my statement brought was proof that I had at least been understood. Heaving a sigh, I turn towards the door and take the knob in my hand. "Thanks for your help." When I slightly open the door a hand grabs it, abruptly stopping me and making me look up.

Tyki's standing beside me holding the door slightly ajar but preventing me from opening it any further. "You're right on that, lil' Queen." Did I hear him right? "And you're in full right to think how you do. We're not bad people but telling you won't change anything." He turns towards the others and hollers, "What do ya'll think? Spare a few for a room for Lil' Queen?"

A chorus of agreements goes around the room and has me stupefied for a second while the men give some change to Tyki. He turns back to me and gives me the money in my hand. "I'll walk you to the nearest inn. I'm sure with that you'll be good for the night."

"I don't—"

"Take it," he quickly interjects already having known what I was going to say. "Our last thanks to the little brave girl who helped out little friend."

At his mention of Eeze, I turn to the boy and see the smile in his eyes. Letting out a sigh, I turn to Tyki and nod. He lets me open the door before I go out and he follows behind me. All I hear before the door closes is the guys' goodbyes and Eeze's quiet farewell.

"You're really wary for a little girl."

"Stop calling me that and keep walking."

"Frankly, I'm scared of that little knife you won't let go off. And that you're making me walk ahead of you doesn't help much."

As he was pointing out, he was walking ahead of me, guiding me through the dirt road back to town. And since I didn't know what he was capable of I simply kept my hand in my back pocket ready to swipe at him if he tried anything funny. He might think me crazy but I have my reasons. "And I'll have a bigger itchy trigger hand if you don't stop calling me 'little girl'. If anything you're the creepy one, you're twice my age at least."

"Now that's questionable."

"Shut it and keep walking. Where's the inn you mentioned anyway?" He had at least been true to his word of taking me back to town. Some lights were still on but most had already turned in for bed which meant if anything happened I could only count on myself for protection.

"Right. Here." He stopped slowly which gave me enough time to do the same some paces away from him. He turned even slower as if testing whether I would harm him if he was too sudden and he was right to do so. "You'll be good here." Nodding his way, I mutter a small thanks and am about to head into the rundown place when he speaks. "Besides having such an itching personality, you weren't half bad, lil' queen. The guys liked you and so did Eeze. That kid hasn't liked anybody but us." Where the hell was he going with his little babbling? "We'll be gone by tomorrow afternoon. If you want to visit for a few hours before four, we'll be happy to spend some time with you."

Not responding to his little offer, I go inside the reception room. After that door closes, I don't bother to look back and see if he left. Booking a room for the night, I notice the money they give me aren't dollars but some weird currency. Thank God they had the numbers on them to at least help me pay. Once I get up to my room and lock the door behind me, I drop onto the little bed that barely fit me.

Even with the insurmountable things that run through my head, the little energy I had left that had been spent walking up here leaves me drained. Soon I end up drifting off to sleep not caring how I was dressed.

* * *

_"Hey, Rei. Wake up."_

When I awoke my head was splitting with a headache and my breathing was heavy and labored. What the hell...

At looking around, I finally make clear that I haven't dreamt of anything that had happened a few hours earlier. I was still in the rundown hotel and not in a hospital or in my room for that matter. Dropping my head on the bed, I hear it groan under my weight.

My head wonders to the reason why I woke up so abruptly until it recalls the voice I heard.

_That was the man from the accident. The one that—I think he saw me in the forest._

Forest?

Climbing out of bed, I walk up to the window and sure enough on the other side of town there lies some good acres of woods. I groaned at the thought that crossed my mind for the slightest second.

_This is turning out to be like some cliched horror film. I swear if I go down there and Jason Voorhees or some other serial asshole comes out and tries to kill me, I'll do them the favor._

But really, what did I have to lose? So before my mind could concoct another B-film excuse, I go out of the room and head out towards the woods. By the time I'm at the edge of their entrance, my hands are sweating from how nervous I am to go in but something keeps urging me to go.

Once I begin to wonder inside, I find myself in a small clearing filled with all kinds of flowers and herbs that waft their scent into the air. It smells like the countryside.

It smelled like home.

_"Aw. Feeling melancholy?"_

"You fuck—" Spinning on my heels towards where I thought his stupid voice had come from, I find that there was nothing but the shadows of the trees playing tricks on my eyes. His haughty laughter rumbled through and I turned once more to where I thought I heard him but again there was no one there.

_"It's adorable how you're missing them after you were the one that wished for your life to change."_

When he said that I remembered the 'tale' he had told me the night he found me in the woods after the crash. "You said that I...wished for this."

_"It took awhile for it to be heard so I suppose that deserves an apology. Regardless of the circumstances, it's been granted. This is now your reality and it will be until you realize the reason why you wanted to come. Until then this is where you shall remain."_

"Why?" My voice echoed loudly in the lone forest and the noise made some birds fly off into the night. "Why me!?"

 _"That's your job: to figure things out. When you were smaller you were a little conniving child. This world was one that intrigued you with its mysteries. Once you remember that part of yourself, you'll know why you're the_ foreteller _of this new world."_

Foreteller?

_"I'll put it more simply so you understand. This is no longer your reality. If to return is what you want then fulfill your heart's desire which manifested your wish. And if you don't recall, then go and explore. After all, a foreteller's knowledge comes not from history but from experience."_

When I hear some shuffling from behind me, I turn only to find a murder of crows passing by and rustling the canopy of the woods. At looking up at the sky, I watch as the night sky disappeared and dawn began to take over, its lukewarm colors beginning to paint all over.

With the light of dawn hitting and showing me the pathway that led out, I follow it silently as his words turn and turn in my head.

"Ara."

At hearing the curiously familiar voice, my eyes come up to see Tyki's face as he too seemed to be heading out of town towards the place they had stayed at. Was he heading back...from somewhere else?

"Out early?"

"I could say the same of you," I reciprocate and to that he only scratches the back of his head.

"Was out on a job. And you?"

"Just a stroll. Fresh air sounded good."

"This early? Dawn's barely hitting."

"Yeah." My answers were short and to the point because my head was still filled with the words he spoke, specially the ones he said last.

_Foretellers learn from experience, huh._

Before he could turn and go, I sprint up and come to look up to him. "Tyki—" I swallow the lump that sits in my throat and get the courage to ask him. "Do you think...it's be possible for me to—uh, you know, go with you guys?"

"Go...with us?" He sounded confused and I couldn't blame him. This was taking a lot of courage to ask specially because of the way I acted yesterday. I was about to try and explain it to him once more but he beat me to it with a question of his own. "Why?"

This makes me look up and this time it's his turn to look down on me. He towered so much over me that he had to bend down slightly and when he did so his glasses slid off his nose ever so slightly. They slid down enough for me to gaze at him eye to eye and for the first time I really got a good look of him.

Those dark brown eyes and long gander he gives mesmerizes me and the tiny mole that rested under his left eye gave him a really boyish look despite being such a huge man. The dark orbs stared me down awaiting my answer.

"I—" I couldn't think for a second. It wasn't until I reminded myself that he was waiting for me to answer that I snapped myself out of the seeming trance I was in. "I've...always dreamt of going out to explore the world."

He only stares into my eyes for a second more before standing straight again and holding a friendly grin on his face. "I don't see why not. You're more than welcomed to come with us."

* * *

 

Tyki told me to wait for them at the station and here I was all ready with my stuff waiting for them amongst the crowd. He said that they would leave for the town of Rocma on train and that it would leave at 4:30 pm. It was 4:23 and there was still no sign of them.

"Last call to Rocma!"

"Shit..." They're going to be late and miss the train. Tyki told me that their next job required them to be there on time so if they missed this train they would miss a good month's worth of pay. They wouldn't risk... Wait.

Could it be...?

_He lied to me?_

It couldn't be. He wou—

 _You don't know them. You don't know_ him _. You're making a complete fool of yourself Reina._

It was true. What the hell was I thinking? I've never let this happen before. Only one other had hoodwinked me this bad and I had sworn never to let it happen again.

_So much for that stupid oath._

So livid was I that I swore I could punch the first person that came close to me. The train's horn sounded loudly before it slowly started gaining speed. Letting out a defeated sigh, I start walking towards the entrance of the station.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Ty—oof!" The man that had shouted at me so playfully had literally just tackled me and picked me up over his shoulder as he ran towards the slow moving train. So much bouncing was making it hard for me to get a hold of myself and when I did I saw Momo and Clark who was also carrying Eeze running beside the oaf of a man that was carrying me.

At remembering him, I look over his shoulder. "What are you—"

"We kinda of lost track of time!" he joked around with a haughty laughter that rang.

Sons of bitches were late?! "You're going to board a moving train!? Are you out of your ever loving mind!?"

"We can't afford to lose it!" Before she could object and yell at him, he took her confusion as a chance to go for it and jump after the caboose. Giving out a screech at feeling him leave the floor for too long, I shut my eyes tightly. It isn't until I hear his weight and that of the others hit the train that I let go of the breath I had unknowingly held.

"See?" His voice sounds too close to my ear. It isn't until then that I notice just how hard I was actually grabbing onto him for dear life. Flustered a bit, I pull back still holding onto his shoulders forcing him to hold me awkwardly with his arm underneath my bent knees and the other holding my back and keeping me from falling back. When I meet his gaze, his glasses are a bit askew showing off those dark orbs that caught me by surprise.

_Too close._

"Um, can you put me down? Please."

He gave out a light chuckle before gently putting me down on my feet. Momo and Clark with Eeze only grinned and walked on ahead while we followed to the first empty seats. Giving me leeway first, I sat next to the window and Tyki sat next to me while Momo, Clark, and Eeze took the one right across.

It was a little awkward since I hadn't properly asked the latter group if I could join them. When I was about to voice that question, Momo and Clark broke out in laughter.

"Poor thing."

"You looked wrecked with nerves, lil'queen."

"W-What...?"

My eyes go to Tyki and meet with a teasing smirk as he leans his chin on his fist. "Did you think I went back and said nothing?"

"Um..."  _Yes?_

"We know, lil' queen. Tyki told us all about what you told him," Momo told me first.

"And truthfully, we're not against ya coming along. You're not a burden whatsoever," Clark agreed and gave Eeze's hair a slight ruffle. "We've been taking care of this boy for ages and he likes you. Frankly, we like ya too."

"We orphans should stick together," Tyki proclaimed taking out a cigarette from his pocket and placing it in between his teeth. "Dontcha think so too?"

There was no time to reply before Eeze gets up from his seat and comes to give me a hug. At looking up to me, he gave me a smile that reached his eyes. "Welcome, Rei-nee."

"Rei-nee?"

"He's calling you his sister," Tyki explained ruffling the kid's head affectionately. They cared for him so much and it showed. "Sister Rei."

"Mmm." Gazing down at Eeze I couldn't help but think of Kat. I failed Kat when I made her cry the day of the crash. It had been our promise that I would always be there to make her smile. I wasn't about to fail the boy that stood before me too.

Scooting over, I patted the little space beside me and he aptly took it. Out of habit from Kat, I gave Eeze a big hug and placed my chin atop his head. "Don't worry. Big Sis Rei will take good care of you." Briefly sitting upright, I glanced at the others for a brief moment and smiled. "And all of you too. Please take care of me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Three**

_**Melancholy** _

* * *

 The train's loud noise made me jump once we stepped out of it. The station at Rocma was just as crowded as the one from Pavillion. And the people were just as snobby if not more. But with new company to hang around me—and such a cheery one at that—it was easy not to pay attention to the rest of the people.

While walking towards their next work, the trio went on to explain to me how their usual routine was. Work was always for short periods of time but since they were strong enough to do various kinds of manual labor there was never any scarcity for them, it was just a matter of going on to the next town. Usually the work was about a week or two long and if they were lucky it would last them the month. After it was done, it was up and to the next town.

The question that came up in my mind after that explanation was where did they stay if they moved around so spontaneously. They all just agreed that they shacked up in any old or abandoned place that no one was using. Since they scrapped from everywhere they went, they usually had the essentials with them. And if they really wanted to rest then they would cough up enough for a neat room in a bed and breakfast.

From what I gathered, this time was one of the former situations and apparently they had already been to Rocma before because they were really knowledgeable about where they were going.

Our whole chat was taking place while we walked towards the factory where they had to sign themselves up at in order to go to work tomorrow. And since they wanted to get that over with first, Eeze and I had to come along.

"How long have you guys been doing things like these, exactly?"

"For some years now," Momo answered with a smirk. "It's a miracle we've lived through them but maybe we're just that smart."

"And lucky," Clark added with a chuckle of his own.

Some years, huh. I wasn't one to judge but that sounded like a rather long time to live out homeless. But they cope with it and with such a bright attitude too. I suppose that's the key to staying mentally healthy in these kind of situations unlike what I did.

"Say, lil' queen." A sigh escaped me at hearing that nickname that I had apparently now been stuck with. Hopefully, they get to calling me by my name someday. "What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah," Clark continued and tried to clarified the other's question. "Tyki told us that you fainted on the street but that's about it. Are you really an orphan too?"

"Or are ya a runaway?" Momo cajoled with a smirk. "Because if that's the case then Tyki here's committed a crime."

"Hey, she passed out in the middle of the street." Tyki was trying hard to defend himself but they were all taking it as a joke. "Hell if I was gonna leave her there."

Great. The one thing I didn't want to discuss was the one thing they wanted an answer to. It was almost going to be a week since I woke up from my coma and since then I had recalled my life before this.

Along with the reason why I had jumped in my truck with a bag of my stuff driving away like a madwoman. That wasn't something I wanted to talk about anytime soon.

So I went with the next best option.

"I was part of a group home in another town but they weren't really a family. I didn't see them as so at least. And it certainly wasn't any home." Giving them a small smile to reassure them, I finished my thought aloud. "So that I left after the accident was much better than going back."

Apparently that seemed like enough for them because they refrained from asking anything else. The idle chatter continued between the men while Eeze and I followed alongside them commenting once in a while. It took us a good twenty minutes of walking to get to the factory where they were supposedly going to introduce themselves to the owner as workers for the next week.

"Stay here," Tyki told me while Momo and Clark went up ahead. "We'll be back in a few."

We both agreed and stayed outside of the entrance. There weren't as many people here as there were at the station so it wasn't as crowded. Nonetheless, Eeze felt the need to grab onto my hand. It wasn't any bother so I just let him. But when he did that he caught my attention specially because my eyes darted towards the medical mask that hid his mouth.

Curiosity was biting my ass right now because I really wanted to know why he was wearing it. But I knew better than to ask a kid so instead I kept my mouth shut. We waited outside for about ten minutes before the guys came out like they went in, clamoring about nonsensical stuff.

"What now?" I asked once we started heading away. It was already the afternoon and soon the sun would be gone.

"We spotted a nice-looking tavern not far from here," Tyki answered while Eeze held onto not only my hand but also Tyki's with his other free hand. This kid really liked him. "We'll go there to get somethin' to eat then go find a place to stay at."

"Have you gotten that part figured out?"

"We've been in Rocma before," Momo called overhearing out conversation. "We have a pretty nifty place that's never been used up but it's good enough for us to stay at."

Not seeing anything wrong with that, I simply follow behind them and after some minutes we find ourselves inside a tavern that's pretty full. Tyki told us that he would go look for a table while we went to order the food for everybody.

"Rei-nee!" Looking down at Eeze who had called me, I see him let go of Tyki's hand before starting to drag me away. "Let's go get food."

"Um..." Momo and Clark were already going ahead of us so I decided on something else instead. "Actually, you go ahead with them and I'll go with Tyki to find a table. I need to rest for a bit."

"Can I sit next to you then?"

"Of course." That seemed to satisfy him for he simply asked me what I wanted to eat. Anything he liked I would try is what I told him and that quickly got him to trot off towards the other two.

"You're really out of shape, aren't you, lil' queen?"

"Stop calling me that, _please_." That last part was a tad forced but I kept hoping it would get the message across. Sadly, it didn't. "And no, I'm not."

"So you lied to him?"

"No, I just need to get my bearings is all." The things here were something that I needed to get used to and quickly if I wanted to get anything done. And the best way that I learned was from observing others. It's like watching animals in their natural habitat. Or kind of like watching Animal Planet but through a wider screen...and not really animals. "I was out of commission for five days. I need some time to get used to life again."

He pulled my sleeve towards the direction of an empty table and we headed there. He took a sit and I followed taking the one across from him. "Out of commission?"

Language was something that I needed to work on, apparently. "Before you found me, I had—uh, kinda ran away from a hospital after waking up from a coma."

"You what?"

The reaction was understandable so I gave him a dumbed down explanation about what had happened. Of course that version was the one that the nurse had told me. If I said anything about driving my truck and careening off an iced-over asphalt street then he'd think me crazy for sure.

"And you were there for five days?"

"Mm, they wanted to keep me overnight just to make sure I hadn't lost too much blood. The anemia was the reason why I fainted when you found me," I quickly explained. "Hospitals aren't really my thing so I snuck out and, well, you know the rest."

"How did you get injured in the first place?"

Shit. Hadn't thought about that one.

_Think, Reina. Think!_

"Some punk that I had some beef with decided to get back at me when I wasn't looking." The lies split out like a waterfall and there was no stopping them. "The ass left me there unconscious. I suppose that's when the monastery found me. I didn't tell the hospital anything because the one who did it wouldn't be held responsible anyway, battery or not."

"Well, if that's how you think about it then I suppose you're right. But if that happens while you're with us, it'll be better for you to tell us the truth. After all, we take care of each other," Tyki said taking a cigarette out and playing with it.

"You smoke?"

"When I work, usually. I try not to as much in front of Eeze, though."

"How come?"

"Hurts his lungs."

Lungs? The question was out before I could think about it. "Does that have to do with why he wears the medical mask?" The smirk that marked his lips took me by surprise and made me stutter. "W-What?"

"I was wondering when you were going to ask about that."

"Why?"

"You've been wanting to ask about it for a while now." That comment creeps me out a lot and it seems he notices because his smirk only grows wider. "You're face is easy to read."

"My...face..." My hands unconsciously reach up to my cheeks. Without meaning to a pout comes out of me. "No it's not." This got a good laugh out of him. Damn, asshole. "If you know could you tell me then?"

"Like I said before—" he gave his own chest a tiny bump with his open palm. "It's his lungs. He's never had a good set on him. The fumes from the mines and factories hurt him. We can't leave him on his own and we're forced to bring him along so he has to use that for the tad bit it can do for him. He got into the habit of using it so now he doesn't take it off."

"Oh."

He had a hard time breathing and the environment he was in only worsened it. Poor kid, he's clearly suffering from asthma. But I doubt they have any sort of inhalers here for that. And even if they did, I'm sure Tyki and the others can't afford them.

"Something in your mind?"

"Nope. Just spacing out."

Our conversation ended promptly after when Eeze and the others reached us with the food they had gotten. Again, it wasn't much but it was enough and I was never one to complain. Like the day when they invited me to dinner, this one too was full of chatter and laughter. It was infectious really. We never had time to do this when I was with my family. Jaden and I were always away. Kat was left alone with Mom or Dad who, in themselves, were a couple of workaholics. So this was a nice change of atmosphere.

Once done we left the tavern and not even a few minutes later arrived at an old rundown cottage. It was beaten down but it was really nice. At going in I also notice it was pretty small. The tiny dining room and kitchen were a joint room. Only two other doors were on the walls and Eeze and I went ahead to check on them while the other three unwound from the long day.

The door I went through seemed to be the bedroom that had four beds scattered about. Four? Stepping slightly out of the door's threshold, I turn to Eeze who just came out of the other door. "Eeze, what's inside there?"

"Shower and bathroom."

Oh great. I let out a sigh and close the door behind me before I let my voice ring out to the older members. "We're going to have a problem here."

"A problem?" the three quirked up like little children.

"There're four beds." I raised four fingers on my right hand while trying to maintain a forced smile on my face from how lost they acted. "There's five of us—" I raised my thumb, "—and I'm a girl."

"Damn, that's true." The mumbling between them stared at trying to resolve the problem. Really, had they not thought this through?

Before I can pitch in my two cents worth, Tyki quirks up with a smirk on his face. "You could sleep with me."

Tyki's comment didn't help my mood especially since he actually looked serious about it. "Be serious about this."

"I am~"

"You're clearly not!" I yelled at his face. That only seemed to cause them to roar up in laughter.

Damn them, they were clearly older than me but was I really the only one who had common sense? Eeze pulled down on my sleeve to make me look at him. "We could share mine?"

The comment left me a little confused. "Yours?"

"That's right," Momo said wiping away the tears that came up from laughing so hard. "We always give Eeze the biggest bed. Surely both of you could fit in that."

Sleep with the kid? He's eleven and he _is_ a boy.

_You've slept with Kat before in the same bed._

But that was when Kat was smaller than now and so was I. However, sharing a bed with Eeze sounded much safer than sharing it with Tyki. A thousand times safer. "Fine, I'll take it."

* * *

After rounds of quick showers and some horsing around inside the room, courtesy of the grown men, night finally fell and soon we had to go to sleep. A round of goodnights went about the room and I gave a hushed response before the lights went off and only the pale moonlight hit us.

There was no clock or anything that I could use to tell time but after about an hour of tossing and turning, and after hearing them snore for about thirty minutes now, I was sure there was no way I was going to fall asleep anytime soon. In the small room, the four beds were almost quite literally one atop the other. They were basically a square. Eeze and I took the biggest which was against the window with him facing the wall and me getting the side that was right beside the little pathway. Across from us was Momo, diagonally was where Clark was, and right beside us Tyki was soundlessly asleep. You could tell they were really used to this because the moment those lights turned off they knocked the hell out.

I was a heavy sleeper but it usually took me a long time to fall asleep in the first place. But usually walks out in the woods near my house helped me get sleepy. There were no woods in Rocma but a stroll was sure to do me some good.

As quietly and slowly as I could, I pried off the blanket that Eeze and I shared. He shuffled slightly from me but quickly went back to sleep. My sleeping ware wasn't much since I hadn't packed with any anticipation— a pair of shorts and a large shirt was what I slept with— but with my jacket over it, it would be enough. When I swung my feet out of the bed I accidentally kicked my bag that I had tossed to the side.

I cringed inwardly a bit at the noise I made but it wasn't until I heard three pitched notes that I stopped briefly. What the heck...? Curious now, I pick up my duffel bag and start looking through it. At first I see nothing but clothes and other miscellaneous stuff that I put together in a rush until I reach the bottom. A tiny oval circle gleams when the moonlight reaches it and when it's a pink light that reflects back, I know exactly what it is.

Carefully, I pick out the pocket mirror from inside the bag. It was a pretty childish thing. It was circular and the size of my palm but it was a bit bigger at the bottom than at the top and there was a reason for that. This pocket mirror was something that Jaden had gotten handmade for Kathleen's first birthday. It was pink, rimmed with gold and when you opened it, it was a simple mirror on the inside of the upper cap. The bottom inner part though had a picture of a butterfly flying around a field of flowers and the butterfly was held and positioned in a way that allowed it to turn when wound. Yep, you heard right, wound. This thing wasn't just a pocket mirror. Jaden actually got it made at a store that specialized in music boxes. The bottom of the mirror had three holes rimmed in gold were one could put their fingers through and wind the music box that laid inside.

Wanting to hear it, I hold the little thing by the rim with one hand and wind it with the other. It isn't until I open the pocket mirror that 'You Are My Sunshine' starts quietly playing through the room. Inside I see the red butterfly rounding the field of flowers and when my eyes gaze a bit upward, I see something else through the tiny circular mirror.

What stares back at me are a couple of almond-shaped bright green eyes on a slightly tanned face that was framed by messy ebony locks. So much different from what I remember Jaden and Kat looking like.

_I miss them._

Kat loved it when I played her music box and sang her to sleep. We would both lay in her tiny bed while I sang and brushed her hair with my hand. The lullaby was etched into my mind and if anything it always helped me sleep.

 _"The other night, dear_  
_As I lay sleeping_  
_I dreamt I held you in my arms—"_

My voice was as quiet as I could make it. I didn't want to wake the others and I certainly didn't want to be heard. It was hard to keep my voice from shaking but I sang through the verse that was way too real tonight.

 _"—But when I woke, dear_  
_I was mistaken_  
_And I hung my head and cried"_

"Pretty thing you've got there."

The moment I hear someone talking, I snap the mirror shut and halt the music box from playing. When I raise my eyes I barely see Tyki's face in the dark but what I do see are his eyes that shine like a cat's in the dark under the moonlight and that are lazily open. Shit, I must've waken him.

"Sorry."

"Mm." Don't know if that was an 'it's okay' or an 'I was already awake' answer. He languidly stretches in his bed before he fully turns to face me, his hair messily coming onto his face. "It's yours?"

When I realize that he's still talking about the pocket mirror, I unconsciously hold it closer to me. "My sister's. She gave it to me."

"Mmm, so I was right." _Right?_ "You're not really an orphan."

Shit.

_Reina, you dumbfuck._

Thanks a lot, brain. But I suppose you have a point, he's more perceptive than the others. He said that 'he was right' which meant that he had already been suspicious since the beginning.

A haughty chuckle comes from him but his voice still remains low and quiet. "Care to share?"

"Isn't it late for you to be awake?"

"Could say the same for you." That shuts me up. "C'mon, Reina. We're pretty open people, care to join?" The way he said my name sent a chill through my spine. His accent wasn't helping either.

He's prodding way too much; he really wants to know. And seeing how perceptive he is, I suppose telling him a huge lie like the one from dinner wasn't going to fly. Then...a recount with some omitted facts could work. I would be telling the truth...just not all of it.

"I didn't lie completely," I began with a sigh. "I was an orphan."

"Was?"

I nod before continuing. "I got adopted by a family with children. They aren't half bad, actually. And I got along with the others pretty well."

"Then why did you run away?"

That's the thing...

"I didn't." He must've noticed something because his eyes got a little wider. Whatever it was I didn't know. "When I woke up at the hospital, the nurse told me that nobody had come to get me. And although I never pegged them for the type, I suppose I never really knew them if they hadn't come to see me."

"So glum."

"I suppose it's because of how I grew up that I became so jaded. It always was a thought of mine that the little happy family that I was a part of was a little too real. It had been too easy. And anything that comes without struggle is bound to be short lived." This conversation left me drained and that was enough to give me a reason to sleep. Reaching down towards my bag, I gently put the pocket mirror inside it. "Then again, a sweet memory of what could have been is better than none at all."

I don't say anything else and quickly turn over to give him my back. Beyond the snores and the night I can hear him mumble but can't distinguish anything. After that is when I hear him toss before silence follows from his side. Soon the same happens to me and sleep takes over.


	4. Chapter 4

**Four**

_**The Idiocy of Normalcy** _

* * *

The first thing that my ears registered was the clattering of metal. That pitched ruckus of metal hitting against metal rang in my head but slowly went away. Sleep really wanted me to come to its sweet arms and I was never one to complain to it. The warmth of the blanket covering me was helping very much with that.

Something shoves me and slightly wakes me but it's not enough. I'm shaken again and this time it get's me a little bit more awake. Not this again.

_Goddamn it,_ _Kat._

"Give me five more minutes." My voice was groggy and the only reason I heard was because it echoed through my head. But the hands that shook my shoulder weren't tiny. They were actually pretty big and had a warmth of their own.

_This isn't Kat, but I know who this is._

"Jade, you're such an ass. Give me five—"

"Jade?"

That voice...

Reluctantly, my eyes flutter open with all the willpower I can muster. The image before me starts out blurry with the light hitting it from one side but by the time it clears I already know one thing.

This isn't Kat _or_ Jaden.

"Ty...ki?"

"Morning, sleeping beauty." That stupid grin flashes down at me but it's quickly replaced by a stifled yawn. "It's time to get up." Without another word, he bumps me on the back before going off to do goodness knew what. Still in the middle of my waking stupor, I slowly sit up all the while stretching. Cats and I have a lot in common, we're lazy as fuck.

Smacking my lips to get their dryness a bit more moist, I take a gander around the busy room. Tyki's getting ready with Momo and Clark and Eeze is nowhere to be seen. He's probably in the kitchen making breakfast. Poor kid, slaving away.

Those are fleeting thoughts in my mind because the instant I'm not being bothered I grab onto the blanket that we used last night and just throw it over me and slump back onto the bed.

Aw, sweet warmth. It's quickly doing its work to lull me back to sleep until something forcefully jerks it away. The cold air hits me hard and my body curls up instinctively.

"Nuh-uh, lil' queen," Tyki's taunting voice chided with a knowing smirk. "Time's a-running." I turn my face towards the pillow and groan. He chuckles before tapping me on my leg. "Nice clothes, by the way."

What. The hell. Is he talking about now.

Clothes? But all I was wearing was my shirt and shorts—

_Shit._

Not thinking, I quickly pull the blanket over my legs. From the other side of the room, all I hear is a haughty laughter before all of them start to go and leave me to change.

"You pervert!" I piped at Tyki's retrating back just as the door clicks closed.

Damn asshole.

It takes me a few minutes to find something decent to wear which ends up being a pair of shorts over leggings, my boots, and a button-up shirt. Because they've never really questioned my attire, I presume it's okay to use it here even though it sometimes seemed out of place.

Once done, I head out still adjusting the collar of my shirt and notice that they're eating without me. Running up to the seat I presume to be mine, I start eating with a slight thanks for the food. Because it's the morning there's not as much talk but there's still some.

My yawns come out every now and then while we eat and I can hear Eeze chuckling beside me every time it happens. Well, glad one of us is getting a kick out of this. Damn, I'm not a morning person. I had no idea what time it actually was but I knew that I was never hungry in the mornings. It was my usual thing to just skip breakfast all together and binge eat for lunch but I guess the way things are here, I should take what I can. So in the end I decide to forcefully eat the portion I have and even then I leave quite a bit behind.

"Not hungry?"

I have no idea who asked me but I simply shake my head. "Not a breakfast person. Or morning person at that."

"I can tell." It isn't hard for me, somehow, to recognize Tyki's voice. He snorts at recalling something before voicing it. "You slept like a log through Eeze's morning routine."

"Routine?"

"My job's to wake everybody up." The boy beside starts making banging gestures with his hands. "It's easy when I use the pots."

Pots? "So what I heard this morning was you making all that noise?"

"Yep."

"But you clearly couldn't have cared less about it because you just knocked right back out," Momo called with a stifled chuckle.

"Heavy sleeper, lil' queen?" Clark asked with a mouthful.

"Quite." A yawn escapes me and from a distance I hear a loud horn that blows. As if on cue, the group of men started to head towards the door. Work's calling, I suppose.

"We'll be back later. Eeze teach her around and be sure to go get food. Take care, kids." Tyki's rambling ended when the guys closed the door behind themselves.

To say that I was confused would be an understatement. "Do they usually leave you by yourself?"

He shook his head and went on ahead to pick up the plates the guys left behind. "I go where they go and come back to buy food to make after work is done. But Tyki told me that since you're here we can do those things while they're gone."

Huh. So I'm a certified babysitter now. I guess I can't complain but the man could've at least said something about it. After we finished cleaning the remains of breakfast, he started telling me his usual routine.

First things, he headed off towards the market place that was in town. Because it was the middle of the day it was very much crowded and since I didn't want to lose him, I grabbed his hand in mine. He didn't complain but instead took me over to a stand to get some of the groceries we needed.

What we bought were things I usually went out to buy myself when I lived with my family. Back when I still lived there, I was the one left to buy stuff since Kat was too young to go by herself and my parents were at work.

The list that Eeze had was barely something to prepare dinner: vegetables, some meat and a little essentials that I supposed they had ran low on.

"The meat should be there." My eyes follow his finger which points out to a particular stand in the whole market. "I'll be here getting the vegetables."

"All right, stay put and be careful." Not wasting a second, we split up the money the guys had apparently left him and parted ways. Parting my way through the crowd in the market, I reached the stand he had pointed at pretty quick. Many people were already standing in line talking over one another to get the butcher to give them their order first. Well, seems like I need to learn to push and shove.

Thankfully, I know how to do the latter.

"Excuse me!" The taunt in my voice is clear and their annoyance even more when I start shoving my way through the crowd. Screw them, we need food. Once I had parted the Red Sea, I glanced around at the meat that Eeze told me.

"What's it gonna be girl!"

"Oh." He's talking to me. "Two pounds, please," I told him while pinpointing the meat. He nodded and started going at it. While he did that, I took the time to glance over the prices. My face surely went glum at seeing them.

Damn shit's expensive.

"Here ya go." He passed along a bag with the freshly cut red meat. "It'll be 50 Guineas."

"Fifty..." It took me some minutes to gather the amount but when I finally did I passed it on and quickly left to find Eeze.

Damn, stuff sure was expensive. I had no idea what was the equivalence between Guineas and dollars but it mustn't be that much if I really think about it. And that old man was asking way too much for a couple of pounds of days' old meat. But I was new at this and I couldn't complain much. After that expense I had a little over fifteen Guineas left; I didn't know if it was much or not but giving it back would be best. Finding a better place to get meat would be better but I didn't know the town or market enough to tell where that would be either.

After a few minutes of aimless walking I spotted Eeze from afar looking over some signs from the stands. The strange thing was that he wasn't reading the signs on the vegetables and fruits. It wasn't that I could read his mind to see if he was reading or not but it showed because he was glancing at the sign for a brief second before looking down at his fingers to count.

Could he not do it in his head?

By then, I had been paying so much attention to his ministrations that I had started walking a lot slower towards him. He had already told the shopkeeper what he said he would get and was going on to pay for them. Out of habit from buying the groceries, I did a quick count of the things he had and how much it would turn out to be.

_45 Guineas._

"That's going to be 65 Guineas, boy."

_What?_ I did a quick recount—no, I hadn't counted wrong. Then that lady...

"Here you—ah, Rei-nee." Eeze was clearly confused at what I had done since I had purposefully grabbed the fist he held the money in and enabled him from paying.

There was no scowl or grimace on my face because I wanted to see what the old hag was up to. "I'm sorry, but I must ask you to recount that."

"No need, it's 65," she pointed out stubbornly.

So I was right.

_Old hag._

"Really? Because—" I cleared my throat loud enough for the other customers around the stand to overhear me. "If you're gonna con a little kid out of his money then I'd rather go somewhere else than get some clearly rotten pieces of—"

"Alright already!" the old woman hissed and shoved the produce into my already full arms. "It's forty-five."

"No." A smirk spread across my face knowing I had leverage here. "It's _thirty_ -five _and_ we can have a loaf of bread. Unless—" I quickly interject the moment I see her mouth open to argue again. "You want me to open my mouth."

* * *

"That was amazing!"

_Boost my ego, why don't you._

Shut it, brain. But I had to admit that the way Eeze so gleefully skipped by my side made me giddy too. He had been so amazed by the way that I had won the old lady in her own con. And because of what had happened we didn't only have about forty Guineas left but also some extra food from that old lady.

"Not really," I chuckle at how he was so hyper. "Can't let people hassle you, though. Even if you're young you still got to stand up for yourself."

"Yeah, I suppose." It was then that I notice I had said something I probably shouldn't have. This kid was sickly and always had one of the guys beside him when he went out to do things like these, I presume. Perhaps that's why they happened today. They saw him alone and that meant a vulnerable prey to them.

But I had lived long enough to know what most people were really like.

Soon we arrived to the little cottage and began to put things away. All the while he showed me around where to store everything, the scene from this afternoon kept repeating in my head. Eeze didn't seem fazed a bit about how he'd almost been conned.

A few hours fly by with my brain still trying to figure out why the kid was being treated more as an adult than an eleven-year-old. Yes, he was practically homeless and yeah, he was orphaned. But by the way they interact one can tell that he doesn't despise his live. It may be harsh but it wasn't deplorable.

If anything...he was happy.

What piqued my interest was why he didn't ask for something as simple as learning arithmetic or reading and writing. The guys were old enough and even if they were uneducated, they must have some kind of education.

It wasn't until we were making dinner—Eeze basically helping me with the ingredients and me making the dinner—when I finally couldn't take it anymore and asked.

"What kind of education do you have, Eeze?"

The question went right over his head. Or that's what it appeared to do at least when he turned my way with a perplexed look on his face. "What do you mean?"

Maybe I didn't phrase it right. "Well," I trail off trying to find a way to phrase it without it sounding condescending. "Were you ever taught how to read and write?" As if I were asking about the weather, he simply shook his head. "What about math?"

"Nope." He ignored my astonishment and continued making dinner. I did as well but I was still perplexed.

"How...come?"

"Well, I know that school's too expensive to afford for us. Besides the point that we are always moving." He busied himself with the water I told him to boil but didn't stop talking. "I'm pretty sure the others know how to read a little but they're always working."

Good points. Money problems, moving issues, and the guys too busy to help him learn.

Too busy...huh.

"Then how about I teach you?"

"What?"

_Shit. Nice work with the lose mouth, Rei._

Didn't mean to say that but it had popped out of my mouth before I could even stop myself. Normally I'm a quip pro quo kind of person; 'scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' kind of motto. But kids rubbed me on a whole other level. To kids, I was a complete pushover. Until they annoyed me too much. But Eeze seemed to be of the same caliber as Kat. Both were calm and collected, even though they had a difference in age, they were pretty much the same. And if I could teach an eight-year-old math and spelling then an eleven-year-old would be a piece of cake.

"Would you—" His sudden outburst brings me out of my train wreck of thoughts. He's now expectantly gazing up at me with those huge baby blue eyes. "Would you really do that?"

His honesty touched me. He clearly wanted to learn but knew that asking would be a burden to the others. But with me here...it didn't have to be.

Beaming him a smile, I pat the counter that's in the kitchen for him to sit on it. He does without much effort needed and waits patiently for me to finish checking the food. "What I want to know is if you're willing to learn."

"I'd love to!"

His enthusiasm is a good sign. It'll make teaching him more fun than a chore. "Okay then, for now I think I can start you with reading and writing. Math's a bit more of a hassle to prepare so we'll do that tomorrow." Running over to my bag, I pull out my barely used journal and a pencil and start writing the alphabet on it on my way back to him. "For now—" I rip out the page swiftly with the twenty-six bold letters. "I want you to learn these."

"The alphabet?"

"English alphabet." I've noticed how the people around the town speak different languages. The guys themselves know distinct tongues from their motherlands. From what I could catch, Momo was from somewhere in the Eastern parts, Clark could well have a pet kangaroo from what Aussie I hear, and Tyki, well, he had his Portuguese. "More universal than anything. Markets, hospitals, train stations; from what I caught most use it so it's our best bet."

"But I don't know how—"

"Which is why I'm here." It was then that I started to teach him from the basics. Learning which letter corresponds to what sound was easy, he learned pretty quick. It was when I started throwing him first-grader words that I could see he would take a bit of time to teach. But time was all I had.

By the time dinner's ready and we're already putting the table out for it, we had gone past the first and second grade basics. Eeze was in the middle of spelling 'factory' aloud to me when the doors to the cottage open and the group that had left that morning came in seemingly exhausted from work.

"Welcome back!" Eeze quirked up and jumped from his place atop the counter to run towards them.

"How was work?" I ask watching as the three stretch out clearly worn out from the day. "Did you guys work hard or hardly work?"

They catch the joke and get a good chuckle; good thing about being here is that all the overused puns back home are brand new here. Who'd figure I'd have some fun this way?

"Tyki! Tyki! Rei-nee's been teaching me how to read and write!" Eeze triumphantly beamed out to him.

"Really?" He gave me a quick glance before turning to him. "And you've been learning lots?"

"Yeah, I learned how to spell some words. She said she'll teach me more and we're going to do math too!"

"Gee, Eeze, you sound so pumped about it," Momo called with a smirk before he took a sit in the dining table.

"But it's great that you're learning. It'll do you good," Clark agreed with the good point for learning.

"Won't it?" Eeze called out gleefully.

"Of course it will," Tyki agreed and ruffled his hair affectionately. He then turned to me and called me over so that we all could enjoy some nice dinner. In about a day or two it would be a week since I came to be with them and I could still not enjoy a dinner fully. This atmosphere never settles well with me. Although I like it very much, it's hard for me to just lay still and enjoy. I'm a jumpy person, and tend to be ready for anything. I'm really...uptight that way.

A good half hour later, Eeze helps me put the dishes we used in the sink to wash. When he started helping me, I take away the dish he holds and instead tell him to go practice what we'd gone over that afternoon. He takes up the offer and runs to the room. Cleaning wasn't so bad, with Eeze in the room and the guys trying to figure out who'd shower first, it was quiet and nice.

That was until I heard someone pick up the dishes I left readied to be rinsed. Looking over, I need to arch my neck back to look Tyki in the face. "I don't need help."

"Clark's taken the shower, Momo's resting and Eeze went off to do whatever you sent him to do." My eyes wander off from washing the dish in my hand and instead land on his that lay bare. Usually, I've seen them covered in wool mitts that have the fingers cut off but now they're bare. The calluses on them are plain as day and some bruises, presumably from work, start showing. When my eyes come back to my dainty hands and how I had to hold the plate with both my hands, a thought struck me.

_His hands are huge._

"Thanks, lil' queen." His sudden expression of gratitude brings me out of my thoughts quick enough.

"For what?"

"Taking the time to teach Eeze."

"It's not as hard as you take it to be. At least not for me. I've taught kids before so it's not difficult or a bother." A sudden thought comes across my mind while thinking about that. "Besides," my hands stop they're scrubbing at voicing it. "He deserves to know everything he can be offered."

"Agreed." He helped me finish quicker and by the time we stepped out to the tiny living room, we saw Momo coming out and Clark heading in. Because the water wasn't running there was no noise; that was until the ringing of the communal phone outside startled us.

My head spun towards the door knowing anybody would answer it eventually. Clark and Momo turned to each other before returning to whatever they were doing. What took me off guard was that Tyki actually went out.

I was about to voice out about how odd that was but when I turned to the other two they acted as if nothing was wrong. As if that was normal. It perplexed me for a couple of minutes but by then Tyki already came back through the door while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry, guys. I'm being called for a job."

"That secret job of yours again?" Momo asked.

"Yep."

"Sucks to be you, mate," Clark replied with a slight scoff. "No time for rest."

"Yeah, I'll be taking a few days off of this one. Ah, Eeze." The mention of him made me turn towards the bedroom's door to see Eeze standing there.

"Are you leaving again?"

"Yeah." Tyki came up to him and placed his hand atop his head reassuringly. "But I'll be back before we leave."

"You sure?"

"Of course."

"Mm," Eeze agreed with a smile. "Take care, Tyki."

He grabbed some of his necessities before heading for the door, no clothes or bag, just his cigarettes, and stumbled across me still near the kitchen. "Take care of them while I'm gone, all right lil' queen?"

"...sure." He waved at us one last time before he left. Everybody then resumed their normal activities as if the man hadn't just walked right out the door.

_Hope he didn't go get cigarettes from the convenience store. That'd be a very cliché excuse._

But that was a stupid thought, he'd taken his own after all. No the real question was what the hell had just happened? Turning to the remaining three, I watched as Clark went into the bathroom and Eeze go inside the room to practice. So I turned to the only person left to ask.

Beating around the bush wasn't my thing, so I went ahead and said what I needed. "Secret job?"

"Just some work that Tyki gets called to once in a while. Has had it since we met," he explained without much hassle.

"So that he just ups and leaves is normal?"

"Once in a while it'll happen. It's gotten a bit more frequent but nothing to worry about. Besides, that job of his always brings good perks so it's not like we can complain." He gave a slight chuckle and went ahead to the room.

Even when bedtime came, I was still a little disturbed. The only upside I saw from him leaving was that I could take his bed and leave Eeze to his own. But even with the extra space I couldn't manage to fall asleep.

It was pointless to just lay there so I might as well be doing something. As quietly as I could, I step out of the room and towards the dining table. It wasn't until I saw the bag of money for tomorrow's expenses that I remembered what had happened that day with Eeze.

I need to prepare lessons for him. Just mindlessly teaching him won't cut it. He needs a stable learning agenda. My hands go into the bag and count out what we have for tomorrow. Much more than what we had today, that's for sure. Maybe it's because of how much we saved today.

That's another thing, they need someone to keep count of how much they're spending. It'll be much easier to save like that. Getting the book I had used to teach Eeze, I begin writing down what I know about their expenses. It's hard since I have little to no information but it is a start; I can ask about it tomorrow during dinner. The rest of the night I use it to make up some worksheets for Eeze to do tomorrow on math and writing. For reading I need books but for books I need money so I guess the only way to buy those is to save up some. Before I know, the sun starts rising and I can see it from the windows.

_Yeah, today's going to be hell._

But I don't let that bring me down just yet. Instead I take whatever few hours of sleep I can before Eeze wakes me up and the whole routine starts over again.

Three days pass with the same occurrences. Eeze learns from what I can teach him, the guys come back and we have dinner, and then they go to sleep. For some reason, I can't conceive any sleep ever since that night. If anything I've had about ten hours of sleep these past three nights.

This night, too, I can't seem to find any sleep. It's while I'm doing the accounting that I start slipping off. The fatigue must finally be getting to me. It has to be because before I know it I'm dead to the world.

* * *

_"What's this place?"_

_"Your new home."_

_"But you guys live here... Are you adopting me?"_

_"That's what Mom and Dad told us. They've already talked to Children Services and the inspection went well. Sebastian and Gerard haven't said anything, so I suppose they're okay with it. Then again they're leaving for college in a few months."_

_"And you?"_

_"What about me?"_

_"Are you okay...with your parents taking in a crook like me?"_

_"Crook—Rei, you're not a crook."_

_"You saw what my 'friends' did to me. Those are the kind of people I hanged around with. When they find out I'm still alive, they'll—"_

_"Do nothing. They won't reach you with us."_

_"You say that now..."_

_"Reina. I promise you, no matter what we'll always be here to take care of you. We care about you which is why you'll live with us from now onwards."_

_"Mm..."_

_"What will it take for you to trust me?"_

_"Don't take it personally, I don't trust anyone."_

_"Then I'll make that change. I'll make sure that if anything you'll be able to trust me."_

Something in my chest strung heavily as his words echoed in my head. Those promises that I thought were empty back then and that ended in something much bigger than either of us could contain.

_I regret being part of that family._

If I weren't then...perhaps it could've been.

"Jaden..."

"You awake?"

At hearing that deep voice so close makes me react to it. My body slowly starts to wake from the induced sleep caused from three nights of not resting properly. First I heard that voice, then I feel the warmth of something on my shoulders.

_Jade._

"Yeah, I must've dozed off. Sorry, I'll go to my room. Thanks for waking me, Jade."

"Again with that name."

Huh? Groggily, I open my eyes and stare up. Although it's dark, my eyes quickly recognize the tall figure that stands beside me and my chair. What gives away my mistake most of all are the brown eyes that stare down at me—not green.

_Not Jade's._

"I-I'm sorry. I was still half asleep." My voice can't keep from stuttering from how embarrassing this was. I knew I had a habit of sleep talking sometimes but never this bad.

_Shit!_

"Was the bed not comfortable enough?" His question takes me off guard and takes me a few seconds to register when I'm still trying to stay awake.

"U-Um, I couldn't sleep. I'm doing some stuff for Eeze's lessons and keep up with the accounts book."

"Mm..." That's all he says before he sets his stuff down. He left with close to nothing but came back with some hefty luggage. He sits down on the chair next to mine and lights up a smoke for himself. Taking a huge breath, he blows it out and the smell permeates my nostrils. He was dead tired.

"How was that _other_ job?"

"Tiresome as always."

Short answers...meaning he's trying to not talk about it. He's hiding something.

"What do you do there?"

"Show up for events and help around. The boss also has me doing lots of searching for people."

A bounty hunter? Sounds too far-fetched. Bonds person sounds better except there's no such thing as legal courts here. If anything like skipped bail was the problem, I highly doubt they'd send a homeless person. The more I tried to figure this out the more questions rose from what I couldn't tell apart.

And it bugged me. A lot.

"Sounds interesting."

"Not one bit. It's sporadical but it gives some good grub when work actually comes up." He picks at his pocket and throws a bag on the table that heavily clanks on the wood. Curious, I open it and give a quick count on how much he got.

Damn, in three days he did what the three of them earned in two weeks. The three of them...

"Do you think...I'll be able to get some work too?" The baffled gaze he gives me makes annoyed. "I'd like to earn for us too, you know?!"

"No need."

His answer is simple and right to the point. And I hate it.

"Why not?"

"You're doing plenty by taking care of Eeze and the domestic part of the group."

"Oh, just because I'm a wom—"

"Because you keep the boy out of the factories." The answer makes me quiet for a few seconds, enough for him to continue. "He's healthier the more he's away from those fumes. If you get work, you'll probably be joining us there too and if that happens—"

"He goes back to inhaling them."

Tyki gives his cigarette a deep inhale before blowing out the smoke away from me. "You do much more here than you would do out there. Besides, I heard you can hold your own out there."

"Eeze told you?"

"Got us a lower price _and_ free food? Of course I heard." He let out a chuckle before continuing. "You're pretty cunning for a little kid."

"Would you stop with that already?" My annoyance was clearly heard through my voice. Everybody kept insisting on calling me a kid. Even when I'm far from my family it's still the same. Damn my baby face. "I'm not a kid, for goodness sake. I turned twenty last summer."

"Twenty?" The silence that comes over him unnerves me. It isn't until he blows another puff of smoke that it ends. "You're kidding, right?"

"Why would I lie!?"

"Huh, then you look much better than us. For sure a bunch more different than me and we're only five years apart."

Only? "You're twenty-five?"

"And counting."

"You don't look twenty-five."

"Certainly don't look any younger unlike you. You have the face of a seventeen-year-old."

"Gee, thanks."

"Hey, some people would die for compliments like that."

"It was a compliment? Sorry, must've missed the part where it made me feel good."

"What's with the attitude?"

Heaving a sigh, I give myself a couple of seconds before speaking. "Haven't slept well the past three nights."

"Maybe that's what you should be doing instead of being here."

"Can't sleep." A yawn escapes me, though, proving him right.

"C'mon," he replies and stands up to put out his cigarette. He pulls the chair along with me back and further from the table. Without a warning, he grabs me from my waist and swiftly and without any effort picks me up and out of the chair.

My cries of reproach come up but I notice them futile when he simply tosses me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes while he puts the chair back in place. A smell wafts over my nose mixed heavily with the smoke from his cigarette. It's a familiar smell, metallic, but I can't place it. By the time he crosses the room to be in front of the bedroom, though, I notice that there's no point in arguing.

"You find enjoyment in my embarrassment, don't you?"

He scoffs. "What makes you think that?"

Jerk. Before I can answer he puts me down and opens the door. Not wasting a second to let him do anything stupid again, I trot over to Eeze's bed and gently lay down. My eyes follow him as he languidly steps into his own bed.

"Night," I hear him say beyond the sounds of the snores from the others.

He's way too sly. "Goodnight, Tyki." And before I could wait for him to fall asleep so I could go back to what I was doing, my brain defeats me and instead takes me quickly to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Five**

**_Outsider's Knowledge_ **

* * *

Whoever said time flies wasn't kidding.

A whole week has already gone past and here we are an hour and a half into a three hour train ride to the next town. It had been a pleasant week for sure. Eeze and I had acquainted much and I was getting more comfortable with the guys as the days went by. Still a little rough around the edges but I tried keeping it toned down for the boy's sake.

It was easy to live with them. It was a routine that was easy to follow and much easier to improve. Because the majority of them weren't good with any kind of bookkeeping, I took charge of the accounting and was teaching Eeze more appropriate math skills with it as well. Thanks to mother, I wasn't such a waste in the kitchen so I made the meals. The guys complimented me a lot for it but I don't take good to compliments so I just brush them off. Not like they don't make me feel good or anything. It's just that I don't do well with praise.

Anyway, by the time we got to Cinica and the boys did everything they needed to, we arrived past ten at night to our new lodging. This time around it seemed more spacious at least in the bedroom department since it had two separate rooms. Considering they were the bigger group and I considered myself low-maintenance, I took the smaller room closest to the bathroom. At least now I had some semblance of privacy.

And thank the heavens for that too because I just found out something horrible. Horribly embarrassing.

Two knocks to my door come and before I can answer the door opens by itself. I scrambling to make myself seem as if I were doing something else and hold one of my shirts against my stomach. "Hey, lil' queen. Ready to get dinner?"

_Great. Fan-fucking-tastic timing, Tyki._

"I thought we weren't going out."

"Everybody's hungry since we spent dinner time in the train. What say you, fair lady? Want to come too?"

"I'll pass." He seems rather surprised by my answer because instead of letting me close the door he leans against the threshold enabling me from closing it. A sigh escapes me before I dare ask, "What now?"

"How can you not be hungry?" His voice sounded more interested than surprised.

"I'm just not."

"Eeze'll be sad if you don't go."

_He's really going to play the blame game with me?_

"I'm not feeling well, is all. Close the door on your way out." Giving up on closing the door, I simply leave him there and instead head to my bed, lay down and curl up while facing the window, away from the door.

But I don't hear the door close. Instead I hear the floor creaking closer to the bed before the mattress dips under a weight that's added onto it. "What hurts?"

"Nothing."

"You don't want to eat because of nothing."

"I'm just—ugh. Forget it." My hand wonders off to take the pillow from under my head and I put it atop my face. Louder than before, I let my voice travel beyond the piece of fluff. "Go eat."

"You sure you don't want to come."

"They're waiting," is my only answer before he sighs and the mattress pops back up as if relieved of having him off. His steps reach the door and it opens but doesn't close.

"We'll bring you something. Maybe then you'll feel like eating." That's all he says before he closes the door. Seconds later I hear the ruckus the others are making about me not going so I press the pillow harder against my ear. Soon I hear nothing and without meaning to I sit up from my pathetic position.

Having a great sigh, I toss the pillow aside before tiptoeing to my door and carefully opening it. The living and kitchen rooms are all dark which means they've left for good. Once I get my chance, I take some clothes from my duffle bag and run to the bathroom.

I wanted the shower free.

I wanted them to be gone.

I wanted—no— _needed_ to be alone.

Taking everything off, I oversee the damage done.

My undergarments were smudged in red.

_Shit._

"Damn it," I curse under my breath and try my best to wash the minute stain off with soap and water.

This wasn't supposed to be happening. Yes, I _am_ a girl and I understand that it's physiologically normal for girls to experience menstrual periods but the thing was I haven't had one. For years. Reason being the little tiny implant on the inside of my left arm. When I turned seventeen I convinced my folks to take me there to get one and replaced it when I turned twenty. It wasn't _just_ because I was sexually active; my cycle was crazy and heavy as hell. Any other wouldn't work for me so I took this one. The end result was that it took away my periods all together. Once in a while I would get spots but why _now_ of all times.

Now when I'm somewhere they don't sell shit for women!

Cursing my womanhood to eternity I climb into the tub and open the hot water and let it bathe my skin. I sit there and let it cradle me in sweet warmth.

I learnt as I grew up that, besides Midol or Tylenol, heat was great for my body when cramps got me. It relaxed me and it eased the endless pain. That was another thing my body did, when it spotted ever since the implant it would cramp up like a bitch. It was basically saying 'you think you can imprison me? I don't think so' kind of punchline.

And it was coming with a vengeance.

So after showering and cleaning myself up, I laid there in the lukewarm water up to my abdomen to lessen the pain. It must have been a long time because I zoned out enough to lose track of time. Enough to have to be snapped out by someone knocking at the door.

"Rei-nee?"

Eeze. "I-I'm here!"

"We brought you food."

"Thanks, I'll eat when I get out." Having been there more than enough and feeling mildly better, I crawl out of the heaven sent bath and get dressed. Thankfully, I had some leftover fem naps from when I used the duffle bag. I knew the spotting was only for the night but the pain would be hellish over the next few days or so.

Once out, all I see is Clark dozing off while waiting for the shower to open. At seeing me he smiles and tells me he hopes I'm feeling better before going into the shower.

_What the..._

Coming out into the dinner table I sit down and take whatever they brought me and start eating. I may not have quite the appetite because of the pain but I was still hungry. Eeze comes over to me and gives me some company while I eat, telling me of what they saw at the tavern they went to.

After I'm done, I can feel the pain coming back. Yep, this is going to be one hell of a week.

"You feeling okay?" It's Tyki this time again and he simply sits there on the couch playing poker with Momo while waiting for the shower, I assume.

"Never better." But my voice couldn't have been thicker with sarcasm had I tried. And I was.

"What's wrong lil' queen?"

So pissed off at the pain was I that I actually wasn't ashamed to answer. "Lil' queen problems." Both turn to look at me with incredulous looks before stammering for words. This makes me scoff until Eeze asks me what kind of problems are those. My hand ruffles his hair while I hold my lower stomach, "Something you will never get to know, thankfully."

After that little charade, I tell them I'm turning in early since it was barely seven thirty. They all bid me farewell and I go into my room and sink into my miserable state onto the mattress. The only good thing about my period was that the pain caused me to fall asleep faster. Don't ask me how, it just did. But it's that kind of sleep where you're half here and half overthere.

I was almost full body 'overthere' when the creaking of my door brings me over here. Wiping the drool from the edge of my mouth, I hastily sit up completely forgetting my battle wounds. Instinctively, I curl in from the pain and fall over to lay down again.

"You look like your dying."

_How did I not see this coming? Better question yet is why am I still surprised._

"Gee, thanks. Love to hear I look like hell." My head turns up to see him at my bedside with a knowing smirk on his face and a steaming mug in his hand.

"You're much more snarky this way. I like it."

"Saying I should be in pain more often? C'mere, bend down to my level and let me pull on yours. Maybe then you'll leave beautifully in pain too."

His haughty laugh tells me he didn't take my threat seriously. That's bad on his side because I could do anything in this state. "No thanks. I like mine perfectly where they are." He pulls the wooden chair that's in the room to my bedside and sits down. "C'mon," he says and reaches the mug closer, "Drink some."

"No, thank you."

"It's chamomile tea."

"You made tea? Scratch that, you know _how_ to make tea? Stop learning stuff like that or you'll be better suited to stay at home than me."

"Stop being obnoxious and drink it. It'll help."

I knew he was right but I didn't really want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that. But the moment I feel something pull at my insides, I cringe and curl up more. Damn, might as well.

Pulling myself to sit up, I curl up to a ball before him and take the mug from his hand. Its warmth seeps through the ceramic mug and warms my hands quickly. Blowing a few times on the cup, I take slow sips to keep from burning myself. By the time I drink a good amount the bottom of my stomach feels warm and the pain begins to lessen again.

After finishing half the cup, a relieved sigh escapes me.

"Helping?"

"Yeah." There's silence a few more minutes while I finish the rest. By then I just set it aside and look at him. "Thanks."

"Nice to have you back, nice lil' queen." He chuckles and ruffles my hair before standing up to walk to the door. He turns to me before he closes the door completely. "There's more in the kitchen. Enough to make tea for a few days. Get some if you need more. It's already eleven so get some sleep. We'll wake you tomorrow morning."

My answer comes out as a mumble before he closes the door leaving the room in quiet darkness. The tea having relaxed my muscles makes it comfortable enough for me to lay down and slip back to sleep.

* * *

Days go by and I learn to deal with my feminine problems in this new place. Since the bleeding is close to nonexistent the only thing that bothers me are the incessant cramps. But the cups of chamomile tea in the mornings leave me good for the day and the ones at night keep me as sound asleep as can be.

Overall, I was getting through it okay. The only downside was that any kind of running or heavy lifting ripped my walls like a mother's lover so I, for the rest of the week, was laying off of any heavy duty work.

When the fifth day came around, almost at the end of the excruciating pain, I was out by myself shopping for some groceries for me when rain began to pour. I had been aware that gray clouds were gathering around but I thought I had enough time to run the errands before any rain hit.

_Well, there goes my dream of being a sexy weather woman._

"Shit." My mumbled curse doesn't wash away the clouds that are pouring hell down. Thankfully, I found refuge from it at some little stall but the rain wasn't giving signs of giving up. "Great..."

So I waited. Five minutes, at first. Then fifteen. And twenty more. Thirty.

By forty-five minutes, I knew this thing was in for the long run. So I either stay here or risk getting pneumonia from the cold water. Then again, I never get sick.

The sudden splash of footsteps takes my mind from its train of thought and makes me turn my head towards the alleyway nearby. At the corner of my eye, I see someone slither to hide behind a wall.

_I must...be imagining things._

My eyes come back to look at the skies for brief seconds until I hear something besides the droplets falling on puddles. This time I use my peripheral to see something before _they_ back out again. It's not one person, it's _people._ Not willingly to risk being mugged, I go on and risk the pneumonia and quickly walk out from under the stall. I didn't want for them to give chase so I start turning right at random spots.

Three rights and I'll be back where I start. That's the rule. Once I turn that fourth if they're still behind me, I'll race out.

* * *

Thunder roars behind them the instant Tykki and Clark crash past the door while carrying Momo, one with an arm of his over their shoulders.

"W-What happened?!" Eeze's hysterics were something he expected. The boy was worrisome after all.

But before he even considers an answer, Clark and he get Momo to sit down before Clark starts looking over the injury on their friend's ankle while the boy closes the door behind them.

"How bad?" Tyki asks him while he himself takes a sit near the table.

"Sprained, not broken." Clark lets out a long whistle before standing back up. "If we bandage it up, it should heal in a few days maybe. Lil' queen!" Clark's shout bounced off the walls. "Huh? She ain't here?"

"Where's she Eeze?" Tyki asked the boy at noticing the same thing.

"Rei-nee went to buy some more herbs. But that was a while ago and she still hasn't gotten back," he answered with a desperation to his tone.

"She must've been caught by the rain, too," Momo hissed while Clark bandaged his foot.

"I'll go," Tyki offered.

"You sure you'll find her?" Clark asked.

"Have to." That was the only answer he gave before he disappeared behind the door.

* * *

_Turn, one._

_Turn, two._

_Turn, three._

_Turn. And to the left's the poppy bed._

_Turn around._

My head gives a quick glance over my shoulder and not far behind I see the three thugs that had been following me for the past few minutes.

_Shit!_

Not letting panic overrun me, I gaze around while the rain pours on me still. My clothes and herbs are already soaked but those were the least of my problems. Right now I wasn't in the best state to fend of fiends. Much less when I stupidly left my knife behind in the kitchen.

_Note to self: never leave without the freaking thing again._

Not that it mattered much now. Up ahead, I saw another way that I can turn in circles to lose them. Taking yet another chance, I do it but instead of speed walking through it I bump into someone that heavily throws me off balance from the speed I was going.

Thankfully they catch me by my forearm and pull me straight. A big hand. A glance upward confirms my suspicion when I see those huge, rimmed glasses under the mess of wet curls.

"Ty—ki." I'm winded, I know, but outwalking those bastards had been my priority before he came. But he's here now and I'm about to tell him what's going on but he stops me when he places a hand firmly upon my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" His words say he's concerned. His voice tells me something else. Something completely different. So occupied am I trying to decipher what that is that I only answer with a nod. "You're not hurt, are you?" A shake of my head is the answer again and this time I actually glance behind my shoulder and notice that the thugs are there some feet away simply watching.

Tyki's hold on my shoulder suddenly tightens making my eyes grow wide for a second. And in an instant the men on the other side grimace before turning on their heels and running off.

"Come on," his voice calls bringing me back to the now. "We need to get out of the rain." I don't answer him but simply follow behind him, mindlessly.

I say that because my mind was still in the midst of translating what had just happened.

That one gesture; It was meant to be protective but it didn't feel like so.

It was like watching animals on TV again. Like it was a hoard of lions in the wild after a single antelope.

I was the antelope and Tyki...felt like the predator warding scavengers off his prey.

* * *

"Rei-nee! Tyki!" Eeze's worried voice reaches me the instant we burst through the door and quickly close it behind us. "You're okay."

"S-Sorry," I gasp between breaths and wipe the water off my face. "Got into a bit of a mess but I'm okay."

"Better go take a shower, lil' queen. Don't want you getting sick." His voice reminds me that he's still here. Glancing over my shoulder, I see him wiping the water off his face and combing his hair back to rid it from the excess water. I do the same while giving him a once over.

He's back to his old self again. I don't feel that...murderous sensation from him anymore. But that doesn't mean I let my guard down.

Giving him a slight nod, I run to my room to get clothes before going in the shower to bathe the coldness off my body. Since I had already showered for the day, it took me about ten minutes to warm up. When I get out, I'm toweling my hair dry and walk up to the curiosity that now overtakes the thinking from my mind.

"What happened to you?" my voice raises a bit in amusement from seeing Momo's ankle all swollen and red under the mess of bandages.

"Dumbass sprained his ankle," Clark said with a snort.

"Turned the wrong way without paying attention," he hissed when he tried sitting upright better.

"Mm." That's the only answer I give because my mind's already somewhere else. In Jade's medical textbooks there was a section for sprains and fractures. I had read it beforehand sometime back so I knew the generic things about them. And one important acronym.

R.I.C.E.

Rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

That's the generic way to treat a sprain and they had done two. I could do the other two. Telling them this, I get Clark and Tyki to go rest or warm up while Eeze helps me compress it better and get some ice and pillows for him to rest. By the time we're done and his injury is properly treated, the two are already out and at the table.

Eeze and I hurry with dinner and we all eat without much chat. It isn't until we're cleaning that I overhear the three talking about their job.

"They'll dock us pay if only us two show up," Clark clarified.

"Won't give me the week I need, that's for sure," Momo added.

"We'll take the dock, then," Tyki concluded.

"We still got three more weeks here. We have to find a way," Clark insisted.

Unintentionally, I cringe under the pressure. This must be hard for them specially with how they get by. But there was an easy fix. Shooing Eeze to the room to do his homework, I walk in on the guys who continue to talk even though they see me come in. Clark and Momo keep insisting that they need to find a way to keep all three of them in the job for the month and neither Clark nor Tyki can pull a double shift for it to work.

_Again. There is an easy fix._

"If you guys are so worried about it, I'll go and take Momo's place while he heals."

The guys turn to me as if they were surprised I even spoke to them. Or maybe it was my suggestion of replacing their friend in the work that they do.

"You're crazy," Tyki scoffed and leans back against his chair.

"Why not? It's a win-win for everyone," I counter.

"Not with the work we do, lil' queen." This time it was Clark's turn to give his two cents worth. "We mine coal. It's heavy stuff and you're—"

"A woman?" I finish his very predictable sentence and scoff with a roll of my eyes when I see him nod. "Just because I am, it doesn't mean I can't do it. I've done my share of heavy duty work before. Sure, perhaps nothing as hard as mining but I could still do something that's necessary there."

"Even if they let you, who'll take care of Eeze?" Tyki reprimands with a serious tone in his voice. My hand instinctively goes to the one person who's injured and forced to stay at home. But I can see this isn't enough.

Neither of them want to take it.

But I'm not taking no for an answer.

"Look. Either you take me and I convince them to let me in for Momo while he's out or you don't and I find a job that'll take me in _easily_."

And by the looks on their faces, they knew exactly what I was talking about.

* * *

To say that they were mad was a bit of an understatement.

Yes, I had lied about prostituting myself—I'd never sink that low—but they still took me along. They said that if I could convince their boss to let me work there in Momo's stead then I could but if not then they'd work something out.

But I wasn't going to take no for an answer here either.

When we got there and we first spoke with their boss, I got the expected response. The "this is a man's job" response that I got from the guys but in a much less subtle way. The thing they didn't know was that I was a very manipulative person. The old hag at the market was one thing, this guy needed a bit more of an incentive.

By the time we got out of that office and on our way to the mines, the guys wouldn't take their eyes off me.

"What the hell did you tell him?" Clark asks with a smirk at how conniving I'd been.

"He was pale white when we left him," Tyki spoke with a chuckle.

With one whispered sentence, I got him to agree. And the guys were just dying to know what I'd told him.

Shaking my finger at them, I deny them the satisfaction. "First rule: everybody lies."

It was all I left them with before we reached the mines and clocked in. I was given a pickaxe, heavy one too, and some other things to protect from the fumes but nothing too serious. It was clear that they didn't care much for employer's safety. The guys and the rest of the working people started mining where, I presume, they had left off the days before. They stayed close to the entrance though despite the tunnels being much deeper than just the entrance.

Wondering off towards there wasn't hard since nobody was paying attention to a woman walking around in the mines. They just figured...whatever they may have and let me do as I pleased.

These mines were a bit odd, though. The deeper I went the colder it got but that wasn't it. The walls weren't black like back at the entrance. There were white lines of tiny salts lining the walls that traveled deeper into the mines. And I recognized tem.

Back during my sophomore year of high school, I took some college courses for extra credit. This meant I could take pretty much any extracurricular class. From the vast list, I chose a very peculiar class on gemology at California. That summer the Professor took us out to the Stewart Mines and showed us signs of how to find gemstones. And I remember his teachings because they were interesting.

Whenever there's tourmalines, there is one tattletale to finding them.

Three circles. The outer perthite, the middle albite, and the inner glittering mica. This was a pocket of a tourmaline chimney to my right.

It was clear and nice. Taking my pickaxe, I carefully dig around the halos to get into the pocket hole of pressure. When I hit the pocket, pressurized air spues out and I draw back quickly to let it out.

Once it does I continue to dig deeper and find what I was looking for. The walls inside the pocket covered in bright colored gemstones. Pulling back, I flash my lantern around and glance at the mine walls once more.

One...ten...twenty-three...thirty-six...

Forty-seven.

From what my lantern could illuminate I counted forty-seven intact pockets.

_Looks like I have some work to do._

* * *

"That's the last of them!"

Tyki and Clark wipe at the sweat on their brows from the work and head to the line to get discharged for the day. Their boss is at the front counting their progress. But out of the bunch, there's one person that they fail to see.

"And lil' queen?" Clark asked noticing this.

"Last I saw, she headed deep into the mine," Tyki answered as the line moved further on.

"Could she have gotten lost?"

"Not possible. The mines are a straight tunnel. If she got in one way, she has to come out the same way." By then they reached their turn and they got accounted for. Out of curiosity their boss asks about the 'poppet' that had accompanied them for the day.

They looked at each other and were about to say that they had no idea until they hear the heavy steps of her running. They turn to find her with a wide grin as she ran with her hands busy carrying her pickaxe and a bucket and her face smeared with black stains everywhere.

"There you are, poppet." The two observed as their boss checked what she'd spent the whole day doing. When they hear a shocked shout from their boss, they turn to find him ogling at what she had in the bucket.

Curious, the two approach her and can't believe what she has either. The bucket she had was full of large tourmalines.

"Where did you—"

"Your guys might want to be careful when breaking into the walls further in," Reina called pointing way back further into the tunnels. "I've marked most of them but there could be more pockets that I couldn't find by myself." She turns with a bright smile at them. "So, did I meet the quota?"

* * *

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

We were already on our way back home and the guys had been quiet up till now. Their boss was pretty damn happy with what I had found saying that the gemstones were booming in the markets. The profit would be good for the company. And seeing as I was the one that knew where they were, I was given a pretty nifty raise.

"The gemstones," Tyki said with more clarity. "How did you find them?"

"Just a hunch," I say with a chuckle and turn around to face them. From my pockets I pull out a rock.

"What, you took a souvenir?" Clark said with a grin.

"Something like that." With my hands, I carefully pull the geode apart to show them the raw quartz inside. "You didn't think I gave him the good stuff, did you?"

* * *

That night we had a feast with the raise but I saved the money we got from the quartz for some other time. The rest of the week was spent in a similar manner, while Momo rested we worked and I directed the other miners to the tourmalines while taking the few geodes I found with me. We raised quite a nifty sum with the ones we found by the time Momo went back to work.

Our routine went back to normal then for the rest of the month there. And soon it was time to move on again. This time to Gardenia, a small town with much more poverty than the rest. The work was back to a week so we were only going to be there for a short time.

So instead of finding an actual place, we got nice rooms at an inn with the money we had. A few days went by pretty quickly and because we didn't have to cook dinner for the majority of the week, the few afternoons Eeze and I had free we spent outside waiting for the guys.

For the past few days, I've been telling Eeze stories to keep him entertained. These stories weren't ones that would bore though since Mister Walt Disney got them himself. Yep, for the past days I've been recounting Eeze the many wondrous tales of Disney's classics.

"And they lived happily ever after." It's when I finish telling Beauty and the Beast that Eeze points out something to me. He points out to the other little children littered around. They're separate and a bit far away but they've been standing there mesmerized. This was a poor community so that children were going out and about by themselves didn't seem strange. And they were young too and that broke my heart.

Standing from my place, I go over to the lot but stop briefly when they start backing away. So instead I stay put and urge them to come closer. "I'm going to tell another one. Maybe if you come closer you'll hear it better." They all look to one another as if hesitant to come forth. It isn't until a little girl comes closer to me and Eeze that the others dare come closer. The whole group comes close enough for me to make a quick count.

_Shit, there must be at least twenty kids here._

Big crowd to entertain...but I'd entertained a much bigger crowd.

"Which are you telling now, onee-chan?" the girl from before asked while holding a rather ragged bunny in her hands.

"Well, there's one that I like. Would you like to hear it too?" A chorus of 'yes' comes and that gives me the green light. "All right. Let me think, how did it start? Oh, yes. This is the story of a girl named Rapunzel, and it all starts with the sun."

* * *

Tangled took most of the afternoon to tell and by the end of it the kids are more than happy. They all bid me farewell and say they'll be back tomorrow too to hear more. Eeze sits beside me dozing off himself. I don't want to wake him, he's been tired a lot and hasn't slept well for some reason. My intentions are to bring him up to the room but he's heavy.

_Of course, he is, Reina. He's eleven._

But still.

"Need some help?" Before I can even answer, Tyki's already taken him off my back and easily carries him.

"Thanks. How was work?"

"Same old, same old," Clark answers as we head on inside.

"We saw the crowd you kept from afar, lil' queen," Momo pointed out. "What was that all about?"

"Just telling stories. At first it was to Eeze and then those kids joined. They weren't any harm so I let them," I say with a smile as we head inside their room. Since we had enough, we got one for them and another for me. We let Eeze rest for the while that the guys took to clean up. When they came out I had to wake him for we were going to the tavern nearby for dinner.

From outside I could tell that there was a cheery crowd inside because of the muffled music. Once inside I knew it was cheery because of how lively the music was. And I recognized the music.

Jazz.

Sweet, sweet, jazz.

Dinner was enjoyable with the band playing for everybody. Even me with the issues was enjoying myself during it. After we finished I convinced them to stay a little longer for the fun.

If I was a sucker for anything it was jazz music. It was just so lively at times and at others it strung the heart like no other music could. And that's what I love about it. It's not until they start playing 'Saints Go Marching' that I notice something about them.

Daring to ask, I get up and go up to the band after they finish their set. When I asked them where they were from, the answer I got was what I had thought; they were from New Orleans. And they were good musicians too.

_I wonder...how fast can they learn._

* * *

"What's she doing?" Clark asked Tyki who sat beside him on the side of the table that allowed them to oversee what Reina was doing. She had stayed over with the band and was talking to them fervently.

"Don't know," he languidly spoke but kept watch over her as she began playing something on the old piano the band had been using. It was a simple melody. That's what he thought until the trombones and trumpets started joining in as if trying to figure the melody out too.

When they make a coherent chorus, Tyki watches amused at how giddy Reina got from them getting it right. He sees how she spoke to the main saxophone man and gets some nods before the man gets up to address the tavern.

"Ladies and gents!" he calls with a raspy voice that only came from old age and lots of cigarettes. "A kind little lady has come to us with a request and it's one we have taken up gladly. So here it goes."

He quietly counts the band off before a lively arrangement begins to play. The piano starts it and the brass follows it except the trumpet that comes later with a high solo. It's when the trombone helps Reina onto the tiny stage with them that Tyki's attention gets caught.

She seems to clear her throat before she lets her voice boom loud through the walls as the music levels down to make her voice heard.

 _"_ _In the South Land there's a city_  
_Way down on the river_  
_Where the women are very pretty_  
_And all the men deliver—"_

She's like they've never seen her before. Actually smiling and having fun. She steps down and goes over to the piano as it gets played and continues singing.

 _"They got music_  
_It's always playin'_  
_Start in the day time, go all through the night_

 _When you hear that music playin'_  
_Hear what I'm saying and make it feel alright—"_

People already took to clapping along with the song and the atmosphere was quickly changing into the bustling that she had intended. She kept at it while the band took a brief solo for itself. Once it resumed she took it full blast.

 _"Grab somebody, come on down_  
_Bring your paintbrush, we're painting the town_  
_There's some sweetness going around_  
_Dreams do come true in New Orleans"_

The whole tavern breaks into a loud roaring of cheers when the band finishes. Reina bows sheepishly but the crowd begins to call for more. One more.

"Why not?" the man agreed with the crowd cheering. "What do you say, little lady?"

"Mhm. There's one more." She goes back to the band and talks to them before they all agree. She then goes to the pianist and shows him the song briefly. A few rehearsed strokes is all it takes before he gets it down. With that done, Reina comes and stands over to address the people.

* * *

I knew this song like the back of my hand. I love this song and I what it means to me.

"This one's just about...letting go. Having fun each and everyday. And to enjoy it with the people that matter." With that little speech done, I turn to the pianist and nod my head. Taking it as a sign to go ahead, he starts the first few bars of the song.

 _"With tuppence for paper and strings_  
_You can have your own set of wings_  
_With your feet on the ground_  
_You're a bird in flight_  
_With your fist holding tight_  
_To the string of your kite—"_

By the time I start singing the chorus, the band members join me having heard me singing it while playing the piano. They're fast learners but since they are good musicians I wasn't doubting their skills anymore.

 _"Oh, oh, oh_  
_Let's go fly a kite_  
_Up to the highest height_  
_Let's go fly a kite_  
_And send it soaring_  
_Up through the atmosphere_  
_Up where the air is clear_  
_Oh, let's go fly a kite—"_

The people around where simply listening but that was lame. This song was not just for listening, it was meant to be danced. Going away from the piano, I go to the middle where there are no tables and there's a little bit of space and start twirling around by myself. By this time the pianist has already taken to a little solo for a moment to give me a breather but I won't have it and instead keep twirling like an idiot.

But silly enough, I'm enjoying myself.

I can hear the band going on for the second chorus while I twirl around by myself. It isn't until I turn again to face the audience that I don't see them anymore. All I see is a tall man that's standing in front of me. And not just any man.

"Tyki?"

He grins and simply reaches his hand out to me. "Would you allow me this dance, milady?"

His gentlemanly manners make me giggle for some reason but I take his hand nonetheless. With that one gesture he takes over and leads me on a folksy dance while the second verse comes on and the band and I start singing again.

It's only when we start dancing that others come up too. Despite the small space to do so, the dancers take to whatever they can and seem to have just as much fun as us.

 _"When you send it flying up there_  
_All at once you're lighter than air_  
_You can dance on the breeze over houses and trees_  
_With your fist holding tight_  
_To the string of your kite—"_

His dancing is flawless. His steps are smooth and light despite this being such a rowdy dance. I'm having so much fun that when his hands reach down to my waist that I'm too ecstatic to complain. He lifts me up and whirls me and that simply lets me have a laugh while I hold onto his shoulders.

 _"Oh, oh, oh_  
_Let's go fly a kite_  
_Up to the highest height_  
_Let's go fly a kite_  
_And send it soaring_  
_Up through the atmosphere_  
_Up where the air is clear_  
_Oh, let's go fly a kite"_

The pianist hits the keys in a scale to finish the song. The crowd that formed claps and laughs from how much fun they were having. Most of them disperse back to their tables but Tyki and I stay behind to thank the band before we head back.

After that we leave since it was already late but we go home through giggles and laughs from what had just happened. It was nice how all those people had joined me and that the band had agreed to my request so readily. But I guess that's how it is here so much more different than my world. People here are so down in the wrung that they were pleased to have any kind of happiness in their lives.

Even if for a little.

And at that moment, so did I.

* * *

"You're leaving?"

That's what I hear from Eeze the minute I get out of the shower. In the room, I see the guys simply jesting around with Tyki about it before he turns to me. By then, I already know what's happening.

"Your secret job again?" My voice is quiet, all the giddiness from an hour ago completely gone with these news.

"Yeah. Just called in. Need to go if they're calling," he tells me and everyone else.

"But we're leaving to Barcelona tomorrow, aren't we?" I ask confused at his timing. "You won't find us."

"Don't say that," he says and ruffles my wet hair messing it up. "I'll meet you there. Nothing to worry your pretty, little head about. Promise." He grabs his things and gives us all his farewells before leaving. I don't want to ask Clark and Momo again about his job because they clearly don't know.

But whatever it is they trust him with it and if they do then...I suppose I could try to too.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Six** _

**Ghosts**

* * *

 

 

Barcelona was a most beautiful sight.

The moment we descended the train, the station was littered with people selling goods and many other visitors from many places. It was like watching a carnival from home; lights everywhere, people smiling and laughing, and the food stands.

My mouth was a waterfall.

_Refrain stomach or we will suffer indigestion later because of you._

But it was hard to listen to my brain when all around me I heard my mother tongue and smelled the sweet and succulent smell of some childhood dishes I recognized. Here, in this country I had never been to before, is where I felt closest to home.

"Close that yap, lil' queen." Clark's snarky comment makes me turn to them and see that they had already walked a few feet ahead of me. Not wanting to fall behind, I follow closely after them but all the while I can tell that Eeze and I are just so mesmerized by the sights that we can't help but gape wide-eyed at everything.

On the location of their next job, Eeze and I stand outside not far from one of those stands that are selling souvenirs. When he pulls down on my long sleeve, I turn down to see those huge doe-eyes staring right back at me.

"W-What?"

"Can we go there?"

"We're not doing so well with money, kiddo. We better not," I break it down gently with a small smile. He drops his gaze down without a reproach and continues to watch the many costumers that the stand is getting. A grimace forms on my lips at how he must feel, unable to receive the things a kid his age should.

Not far from us, though, is a puppeteer doing a show.

_Well…it's something._

I pull gently on his hand and nod my head towards it before we trot over behind the crowd of smaller kids and their parents. The puppet master seems to be telling some kind of story so I just remain quiet while watching the glee in Eeze's eyes glow bright with each word.

According to the man, this time of the year was when a great celebration in honor of Sant Jordi was held. He explains what the festivities that will span for the duration of the next week are all about with the puppets. The story begins with the name the main day is also known for, the day of the book where couples were the main participants. On end of the week of festivities, a man was costumed to gift the woman he loves with a rose while the woman would gift a book in return.

Weird choice of gift the second but I wasn't complaining. A book for a rose isn't so bad if you asked me. The rose was in honor of the rose St. George gifted the princess he saved after slaying a dragon. They had bloomed after the dragon's blood spilled on the ground. As for the book, it was made tradition in honor of Shakespeare who died on the same day.

Again, quite odd but the festivities were something I would not complain about. It was rare in our town to have any sort of festivals or carnivals. The best kids could hope for would be a small event during Christmas or Halloween if anything.

"You guys ready to head on out?" Momo's voice startled me out of my thought. The guys had come back and had come to pick us up from the show which had ended a few seconds ago. Taking Eeze from the hand once more we got ourselves out of the trance and follow towards our next lodging.

Eeze kept asking if we would be able to visit the places even if for a day. Momo and Clark both grimaced at each other not knowing how to let him down easily. I understood too. Money had become tight because of the unexpected rise in the train's fee. We had lucked out on our trip here because of my financial help but we were back to square one: dirt poor and barely scraping by. Visiting the festivities isn't the issue though, it's saying no to this innocent boy that only wanted to live as such if only for a day.

Gently squeezing his hand, he turns his eyes towards me and I give him a small smile back. "I can't make you any promises, Eeze. Let's see how the week goes first, yeah?"

"Yeah." The answer was short and simple but all the disappointment of the world was thick in his tone. It was like when Kat would ask me when Sebastian and Gerard would come back home. She knew that her older brothers had left to fight but…she still couldn't understand what fighting for our country sometimes entailed. Jaden and I couldn't answer her straight-faced so we lied.

But lying didn't help. Telling the truth, that did. And even when he sounded so sad about it, he'd surely come about someday.

Hopefully.

* * *

The days go on without a hassle and we fall into the same routine as always. It's clear to see when it happens but it's become my norm now.

A couple of days after we got here, I decide to go out and do groceries on my own and leave Eeze in the house to get dinner started with what we've still got leftover. The market is bustling just the same as it was when we got here the first day. So that the marketplace was just as full didn't really surprise me. It was a hassle but I managed to squish through the crowd with all the groceries in hand.

It was while walking home that I began to have this odd feeling. Like knives stabbing me from behind. That eerie feeling when someone's…

When I glance over my shoulder I can't catch anybody sneaking around but that means nothing really when the streets are this crowded. It's when I keep on walking that the same feeling comes over me once more and this time it's just a tad bit closer. This time I don't beat around the bush and instead quickly spin around on my heels.

That's when I catch the glimpse of someone quickly backing up into a corner. Clumsily, too, because our eyes barely meet. He scrambles around as if thinking whether to come to me or not. It worries me but the crowd gives me some space between us and this time I'm not dumb enough to come unarmed and feel for my butterfly knife just in case. But, as I thought, it's unnecessary because he just scrambles off in the opposite direction. A sigh escapes me and I let it be but have a need to hurry on back.

The week goes on like normal after that. Ever since that little incident I take Eeze with me just to feel a bit more at ease. The feeling doesn't leave me, though, every time I'm near the marketplace but I simply hurry Eeze along to get home. Thankfully, there's been no need for any drastic measures.

By that Saturday morning, a day before we're due to leave, the guys arrive tired but content from their graveyard shift. They keep saying something about the festival being full blast. I suppose since it was the 23rd and thus the end of the festival that they wanted to end with a bang. But we were all too tired to even attempt to go see anything and it showed. So after serving them breakfast we decide that it's best to stay home and rest before we leave tomorrow.

Eeze and I decide to spend our afternoon in my room, reading. Well, it's actually me reading him from the only book that somehow smuggled its way into my duffle bag. It must have stayed in there the last time I used this bag. _Philosopher's Stone_ was the beginning of the greatest series ever and I've read it so much that it was worn out. Good thing it was a hard cover.

We're about to venture with Harry and the gang to the restricted area when a knocking on the door takes our attention. The door opens unceremoniously but it doesn't really matter when the face that comes through brightens both our moods.

"Tyki!" Eeze's exclaim hurts my ears a bit but it's nothing I can't bear. The boy leaps from his sit on the bed beside me and goes on to welcome the older man.

"Nice to see you back," is the only welcome I give with a small smile and simply set the book aside on the nightstand.

"It's nice to _be_ back," he answers while ruffling Eeze's hair. "What're you lot doing cooped up here?"

"Resting. It was a week's worth, remember? They finished this morning so we decided to rest before tomorrow," I explain to him a bit confused since he knew their schedule pretty thoroughly.

"Rest?" He scoffed and bit back a laughter that came out anyway. "Today's not a day to rest at home. Barcelona's known for its festivities this time of year. Sant Jordi is the best, if not the biggest, celebration in this city and we'd be fools if we didn't enjoy it."

When Eeze's hopes start to rise and I hear it in his excited tone, I quickly step in with a frown. "Train tickets have gone up, Tyki. Whatever Clark and Momo got today will barely be able to cover the costs. We've got no leisure to be wasting money."

"Do we, now?" The impertinent smirk on his lips ticks me off but what does even more is when he digs into his bag and pulls out a pouch and hands it over to me. The instant it hits my open palms I know what it is.

Money. And by how heavy it is, a lot of money.

"You got paid."

"And a good amount. Count it. It's four times what the guys earned in the last week." The annoying smirk grows as if he knew he'd won. _Asshole_. "We've got enough to go around just for tonight and still have leftover." It seems he notices the grimace on my face because he clicks his tongue and keeps on nagging. "C'mon, lil' queen, you said it yourself before. It's always best if we learn how to have a little fun."

_Damn._

He had been listening. That was something I babbled about after the tavern in Cinica out of stupidity and endorphins. And I wasn't lying but still…

When he sees me still hesitant, he gives Eeze a tiny push towards me. My eyes land on the kid and it's hard to think about what bad things could happen if we waste the money now.

"Can't we have fun? Just tonight, Rei-nee?"

_You hear that? That's the sound of my heart breaking into tiny pieces._

I sigh and turn a raised brow to Tyki. "You're using him to guilt trip me?"

"Depends." That husky voice I haven't heard for days rings in my ears. Afterwards is when I see the condescending smirk on his face. "Are we going?"

My eyes go from him to Eeze and back again for a second. Finally, another sigh escapes me and I smile at them. "I suppose one day won't be so bad."

"Yeah!" The enthusiastic exclaim that comes out of Eeze startles me enough to flinch. This is the first time that I've ever seen him act like the kid he's supposed to be. He's running around in circles around me and Tyki chanting how we're going to the festival.

Before he can yell it to everybody and their mothers', I halt him in his tracks by planting my hand firmly atop his head.

"With one condition, you all have to dress accordingly. It's nice and chilly outside so might as well take the jackets you've got for winter." They don't see a downside to it and go on out to tell Momo and Clark.

At least I _thought_ they had but only Eeze had rocketed out of my room.

Tyki hadn't.

"What're you going to wear?"

It's over in seconds but it feels like it's all going in slow motion when his voice comes to my ear.

So deep, much huskier, and much, _much_ closer.

Playing it off, I simply turn fully over to see him with a boyish grin while leaning over where I used to stand. "Just going to brush off and change to my boots. Why the creepy question?"

"Because I knew you'd say that. And Sant Jordi isn't any simple celebration. Women are usually out glamorous in the finest outfit they can get. I thought you shouldn't be the exception." From his bag of tricks he pulls another package. This one wrapped in brown paper which he passes onto my hands.

"What is this?"

"The point's for you to open it and find out," he cheekily says and sits down on my bed. "Go on, open it."

Curious, confused, and a tiny bit flattered, I go on to rip the paper off before I open the box it hid underneath. Inside it all I see is white cloth until I grab it from the ends and pull it out.

A dress.

_For me._

At first, I'm speechless but in seconds I can finally get my stupid voice box to work. "W-Why?"

"I told you, you shouldn't be the exception." He stands back up and goes over to the door. "Change into it and come on out. Hurry though, or Eeze will knock down your door if you take too long." He leaves me, while closing the door behind him, still astonished at the gift.

The dress is an off the shoulder one; a dress that he most likely bought in one of the stores around here because of how native it looks. The bust line is well defined because of the off shoulder and because of the high waistline. The skirt flows out and is rather simple.

When I put it down, I notice that inside the box is a deep emerald silk ribbon. No doubt to go around the waistline as a sash. When a good argument comes into my head to _not_ wear, another comes to counter it. It seems I can't fight against it or his gift and instead end up wearing it.

I quickly change in the room and wear the short brown boots I bought not too long ago that were most comfortable to walk in. Because I had no strapless bra, I had to let go of the girls for tonight but the dress was tight enough to hold them. Once done I step up before the mirror in the room and like how it's contouring on me as if it were made specifically for me. And yet when my eyes gander my bare collarbone and shoulders, a deep emptiness consumes me.

My eyes just can't stare away from the scar on my left shoulder. It's plain as day to even the blind, right on my left arm socket, the thumb-sized bullet scar that streaked outward.

Sadness, anger, and emptiness fill me at seeing that scar.

And behind it is a story that I'd rather forget.

My hair could hide it if I leave it down but it will sway back and forth if I just let it be and it could show it off. _If I could just tie it to the side…_ My eyes instantly travel back to the box at that thought and grab the ribbon meant for my waist and instead tie my hair to the side with it. The large waves curl in on each other when I tie it in a low, side ponytail which I rest right above my left shoulder. _So long as I don't move brusquely and keep tightening the tie, I should be fine._

Deciding on that course of action, I head out to meet the guys. They all grin widely at seeing me and their scrutiny makes my cheeks flush lightly.

"Rei-nee, you look so pretty!" Eeze exclaims running up to me and grabbing my hand. That along makes me blush like a cherry.

"Thank you."

"Damn, Tyki, that was one fine seamstress you found," Clark speaks out with a smile. "You look wonderful, lil' queen."

"Yeah, my compliments to them," Momo agrees with a thumbs up. Goodness, they're embarrassing.

"Yep." At hearing his voice, my eyes turn up to Tyki who simply smiles slightly. "Nailed it." Without another word, he claps his hands loudly. "Well! Let us head out and have some fun for the night, all right!" At the mention of having some of that, we all call out and go out heading for the center of the city where most of the festivities are.

The hours that we spend there go by so fast that it's unbelievable. It's so true that time passed having fun passes way faster. Eeze and I shared time looking at stands, trying out foods and candies, and I even won him a prize in one of the booths. A rather odd-colored, pink lion but Eeze wasn't complaining. He was having the time of his life dragging me around here and there.

The guys weren't too far behind in our endeavor. Because they could, they spent the night eating and drinking the free booze that was being given out. Their hollering is louder than anything so I knew if we were getting too far ahead from them.

By the time we noticed what time it actually was, we knew that it was time to go home. Eeze was already asleep, drained out of energy, so Tyki was carrying him on his back while we headed out of the fair sight along with the small strings of people that were still out this late.

The crowd was sparse so it was easy to walk by them. While the guys talked, a smile crept to my face at seeing Eeze's tranquil sleeping expression. He's really come to mean a lot to me since we met. It isn't until I don't spot a pink ball of fluff that I notice something missing.

"Oh no," I murmur and stop in my tracks while my mind backtracks by itself.

"Something wrong, lil' queen?" Clark asks and makes all the others stop.

"Eeze's lion."

Momo gives a few glances before making a conclusion. "He left it behind?"

"Yeah…"

_I know where._

"I remember he left it on the bench near the bar last. It must still be there." Before they can say anything to stop me, I run on ahead and yell back at them. "It's not far! I'll be back quick!" That's when I turn a corner and lose them. It's about five minutes after that I reach the bar and the bench but I don't find the lion there.

_It's not here? Could someone have taken it?_

Eeze would be sad if he lost that lion. I take a few seconds to scout around the area before giving up. It's in an alleyway some way around the bar that I finally find the stuffed animal laying on its side at the end of the closed off dirt street.

"You dumb lion," I joke around and dust it off. The color is absurd and I just can't take it seriously. I scoff and know I better hurry to the exit before the guys start to worry. At turning with the lion in my arms, I'm startled at seeing a couple of men standing in the middle of the alleyway straight in my way. Chills run down my spine and I instantly get really wrong vibes from them.

_But I can't let them intimidate me._

With that in mind, I walk towards them intending to get out of the alleyway but they intentionally get in my way.

"Going somewhere, missy?"

"Yeah, so excuse _you_." At that last word, I shove one of them out of my way with my shoulder and manage to get past them. But to not much avail because another appears close to the exit. And not just any stranger. It was the man that I kept seeing at the corner of my eyes every time in the marketplace since we got here.

_He's a major stalker._

_Well, shit._

"Don't think you asked for permission, girl." With that sentence alone, I know he's cynical.

"Don't need it. Now move," I threaten under that last sentence and they seem to hear it. But not quite heed it.

"Got some lip for a little missy!" one of the ones from behind me calls.

"She's fine like you said but she's too feisty," the other agreed and I felt a disgusting leer on my back.

"Too true." My eyes come back to the man before me when he speaks up again. "How about we teach her a lesson, boys?" That order just revitalizes the ugly feeling I had before and kicks my senses into overdrive.

_Well fine then, Mr. Fucktard. Let's break those faces of yours onto the ground._

With my left hand, I reach back for my—

My hands scavenge around my waist desperately but find _nothing_.

_No._

The dress has no pockets. I don't have my butterfly knife.

_I'm weaponless._

There's no time for me to think before one of the men behind me grabs my wrist tightly. It takes them no time to grab ahold of both my wrists and push them behind my back. I struggle and try to pry them off of me but it's hard to fight them off when I'm this outnumbered. And without a weapon no less. When the man from the marketplace starts coming closer to me with a very suspicious hand, I assess the situation better. My quick decision is to kick as hard and high as I can towards him. The tip of my boot thankfully connects with the man's face and I hear a loud crack.

He stumbles back while holding his nose and one of the men behind me goes to help him and leave me alone with only one other.

_This I can handle._

Not wasting a second, I pull my arm forth before quickly elbowing the man holding my other wrist. He doubles over and I knee him in the face for good measure. The other one comes after me but I feint and aim low with my foot. This instantly just makes him fall down.

_Two down._

_One to go._

The moment I spin on my heels, I barely catch a glint of the metal that makes me jump back. I'm lucky it didn't actually hurt me but it does cut the top of my dress across. I have no time to care about the state of my undress because the man charges towards me with the knife brandished. The rage in his eyes is clear because of the broken nose I caused him.

But it's lucky for me. Rage clouds the mind and it makes it easier for me to disarm him. With a quick snap at his wrist, I snatch the knife right from his hand. Before he can do anything about it, I kick him behind his legs and he buckles to take a knee. With a simply twirl I have the knife ready and bring it down with force.

"Ah! You crazy bitch!" His yells fall on my deaf ears and the blood that I draw from pulling out the knife from his thigh falls on me.

The stark white is dirtied with red blotches. I can even fill the warm liquid run down between my fingers as I raise the knife over my head. By now he's whimpering and crying like the son of a bitch he is.

Like the degenerate that he and those bastards truly are. They deserve what's coming to them. That and more.

_So if I kill them, they had it coming._

That one thought halts me completely.

Me? Kill…them?

" _You've hurt people before! What's the big deal if you kill 'em?!"_

Those horrid words ring in my head like a wake-up call. The memory of that night rushes in my head like a bad movie with the emotions coming back along with it.

Excitement. Confusion. Worry. Rage. Then nothing at all.

Those faint seconds that feel like an eternity are gone when one of the guys come up and raises his fist towards me. I'm so frozen by the words still ringing in my head that I can't even raise the knife that's now resting by my side.

What happens next ends in a just a few seconds.

Although I'm too frozen up to move still, my eyes catch the rapid movement of something passing my by shoulder. A fist connects with the man's face before he even comes close to me and even throws him off his feet and backward. The other thug is quickly making his way towards me then.

A strong arm grabs me by my waist and pulls me back until I hit and feel another warm body against my back. This time the hand I saw punch the other guy slithers to the knife in my hand and swiftly takes it away before throwing it in the man's direction.

It's a movement without any hesitation and is true to its aim. The blade lodges on the man's shoulder and throws him into a fit of yelps and painful screaming.

The group manages to stand up and glare bloody daggers at us. They're dirty, bloody, and injured and that just makes the flashback that much more real.

"Leave now. Or the next hit will be right through each of your hearts."

The threat is heard loud and clear and the guys pass by us when they limp away to escape. The reality of what happened sinks in but then it settles.

_It's no different than before. Even after ten years…I still feel_ nothing.

Large hands on my shoulders snap me out of my emotionless stupor and turn me around to face the one that had helped. But the moment our eyes meet there's one emotion that runs through me that leaves my blood cold.

Fear.

Never in my life had I seen someone with so much anger in their eyes. No, I've seen this before but never did it induce this much fear in me.

Tyki's eyes bore through me even through his glasses and it scared me. As if wanting to excuse myself for something I broke by accident, I babble in a weak attempt to say something. But the minute he shakes me by my shoulders, it violently snaps me out of my stupor. The yelling that starts then only adds to the ball of anger that's quickly forming in my chest.

" **Are you out of your fucking mind!?"** He's never cursed at us before, not even when he's in his drunken stupors. This only angers me more. **"You went off alone! Why were you being so reckless and stupid?!"** That last remark makes the anger boil over the top.

And before I know it, I'm yelling back at the top of my lungs. **"Because I didn't need any of you!"**

" **You're only a damn kid for god-fucking-sake!"** He shakes me even harder and this time I feel my hair whip back and forth.

His eyes leave my face and when they land on my shoulder, I realize something too late. Before he can say anything, I roughly claw his hands off me and quickly put my hand over my left shoulder. I'm holding it so tightly that I start to quickly lose feeling on my hand.

I don't dare look up and silence reigns over for seconds. It isn't until I hear Eeze cry out my name that I want to turn around. But then I stop myself dead cold and my other hand quickly goes to the cloth that had been slashed.

I couldn't let the others see me half naked like this. Much less when I'm splattered in blood.

The heavy jacket that falls on my head makes my eyes go wide but doesn't bring my gaze up from the asphalt. Instead my hands grab and close the gap between my torn dress and bloodied self. Tyki calls them over and assures them we're okay.

He's back to his usual tone but the anger is still there. I know because all the way home he doesn't even look at me.

Once we're there, I only go straight to the shower and bathe. The water spills on my body and washes off everything from tonight. The pinkish water goes down the drain. I'm done quickly and the evidence of what happened tonight washes away with the water. And the dress that I throw out.

Everything is somber the last hour we're up and soon we head to bed. But I can't concede any sleep.

And it isn't because of what happened. That mishap came and went through my head like nothing. It was the latent memories from years ago that they had brought up that haunted my dreams.

Heaving a sigh, I decide that I won't be sleeping any tonight. So instead I gather a jacket in my hands and head out for a walk. It's barely March but the cold air of Winter is still alive during the nighttime. The harsh, cold air passes through and kisses my bare legs and face. By the time I'm twenty minutes into my stroll, I can't seem to feel my legs and my nose and cheeks hurt.

_It feels nice._

Finding a lone tree stump near the edge of some wooded area, I take a sit and sink my face into my hands. The memories won't stop repeating no matter what I think about.

The first memory that froze me over hit me like a ton of bricks every time it repeated. The rage of that night helped me think straight and marked it in my head for eternity which brought me to why I had hesitated before.

_I'm not a killer._

Yes, back in my younger days I would get in fights, hit others, and even stab them after I earned my butterfly knife if provoked. But after _that_ incident I learned that no matter what, I was not capable of killing another human being.

It wasn't that it disgusted me. I've seen others fight until they were a bloody mess, some even were left unconscious which I later learnt had died. That never bothered me.

_I'm not a killer._

It wasn't that I couldn't do it. I've put out kids twice my size when I was younger. Stab those who started the knife fights and beat those who dared screw around with us black and blue until they wept me to stop. Those never bother me either.

_I'm not a killer._

It was just the thought of taking a life that kept me from it. No matter how mad or angered I was, my head never went to that choice. Beat them to a pulp, break their noses, stab them in the arms or legs; yes, I did that and much more—but kill?

_Never._

I'm already desensitized to hurting others when they deserved it or when needed but I have never being able to raise my hand against the defenseless to kill them. _Never_ to kill another.

But that was ten years ago, before I met the O'Conners. When I met Jaden and then his family, I left behind that phase of my life. It was hard but I did it.

_I've changed…I did it for them. I wanted to be with them all: Mom, Dad, Seb, Ger, Jade, and Kat. I left those things behind to be with them._

_I'm not a killer._

But the memory doesn't fade no matter how many times I repeat that in my head. The sudden footsteps that I hear make me jump out of my sit and quickly turn around. My breath stops when I see Tyki come closer next to the stump I had been sitting on.

Without a word, he slumps down and rummages in his pockets before pulling out a cigarette and matches. He lights it and takes a deep breath before he breaths out the cloud before him. Feeling we had nothing to say to each other but not wanting to leave either, I seat back down and get lost in thought while he continued to smoke.

A few minutes seem to pass before Tyki gives a deep sigh letting out a bigger cloud than before. "Look—" he scratched his head and seem to think long and hard about what he was going to say next. "I _might_ have been a little too aggressive tonight. But you've gotta understand something." This time his tone is much deeper and filled with concern. "We've noticed these kind of things, lil' queen. You're never taking care of yourself. You're always doing reckless things and get in a bunch of troubles. I'm not nagging you about it. I'm telling you this out of pure concern for you. We care that much more about you because you don't seem to yourself."

That last sentence makes my breath hitch on its own.

I've heard that before.

_Jade._

Jaden told me those words the night I drove out of the house. The night of the accident. The last words I heard him say weren't too far off, either.

" _You might not care what happens to you but we do!"_

Those words that were the last that I heard were the ones that I forgot the soonest. But the ones I wanted to forget the most were the ones I remembered everywhere.

"You don't have to." My speech is a little choked from tears I'm trying to hold back. I take a deep breath and a nervous chuckle escapes me before I continue. "I've heard someone else tell me the same thing. And you're right. You both are."

I've always denied how careless I was about my own wellbeing. Most of the times I attributed it to thinking myself tough and grown up. But ten isn't grown up at all. I was just trying to safe myself the pain of caring. If I cared for myself then others would too and, being that a foreign experience for a little orphan, I was scared of being let down. Of feeling the pain of not being accepted and loved. So I decided to save myself that hardship and instead stopped caring. First for those who took care of me, for those who befriended me, and then for myself. Once I did that, I knew that no matter what I did, I would never be able to get hurt.

_So long as I felt nothing for myself, I would feel nothing for those who berated me._

But when I met Jaden and the O'Conner's, things started to change. It was I who refused to accept those changes which kept me apart from the family. And now, it's happening again. I'm _with_ them but I'm not a part _of_ them.

_And I want to be._

Maybe I _can_ learn from experience.

"Now I get what you mean. And I understand the reasons why you're all worried about me."

_The only way to feel anything for anyone is if you care._

Without turning to him, I speak the next words with as much sincerity as I can muster. "I'm sorry, Tyki. I know how reckless I've been and I know it must've been hard on you all to see me act that way. But I promise that I'll try my hardest to be careful and not get into any more trouble."

He snickers and inhales from his cigarette one last time before he burns it out and exhales the smoke. "Apology accepted. But it wasn't really the apology I was looking for." He gets up and I think at first that he left before me after that rather awkward reconciliation that is until something passes over my eyes quickly.

What I see pass so quickly now lays on my neck. At looking down, I see the thin silver chain. It was clasped big enough to be able to fit over my head and now it laid on my collarbone with the extra length of chain almost reaching the line of my cleavage. It's simple and it is indeed silver but it's beautiful.

"It's for you." He must've sense that the question that I wanted to ask which made me look over my shoulder to see Tyki with a smile on his lips. "I wanted to give it you when we got home but everything else happened so…" He cleared his throat before he continued. "It's been half a year since you joined us, Reina. We thought it was appropriate to gift our only girl something special."

My fingers caress the hanging chain on my bosom and a small smile creeps onto my lips.

_They got this for_ me _._

I've been given gifts before and the dress was one they gave me but it never crossed my mind that they actually appreciated me being with them. That they enjoyed having me with them. That they _liked_ me being a part of their little family.

With so much in my heart, I say the only words that even begin to express what I feel."Thank you..."

"Mm," he simply says before I feel his hand on my shoulder. An odd feeling pits in my stomach when he squeezes my shoulder but leaves when he lifts it. The silence that come over us isn't like before. This time it's a bit more comfortable.

_Half a year…huh._

I can't believe it has been six months since I woke up after that accident. A lot of stuff has gone by in half a year. And in half a year I've been closer to these strangers than to the family that took care of me for ten.

_Three kinds of family._

Something Jaden told me when we met. _"I read somewhere something about families that I agree about. That there are three kinds of family. Those we are born to, those who are born to us, and those we let into our hearts."_

He wanted me to be part of theirs but it never fully felt like it. The reason was me. I never opened completely to let them into my heart. But it seems being so far from them and close to this guys has tauht me that.

A foreteller's knowledge comes not from history but from experience.

_He couldn't have been more right._

"And I mean it." Before I was able to think about anything else, the words come out again. "Thank you so much. I hope that I can still stay with you all for a long time."

"If you keep your promise then we'll be just fine, lil' queen." He slightly taps me on the back before he speaks again, "C'mon. We might want to go to sleep soon. We've got a train to catch tomorrow."

"Mm." It's the only answer I give and follow after him back home. The atmosphere is much lighter and it gives me a reprieve to find some sleep. While I was drifting off, I overhear the tolls of the bells from the church. The ringing is gentle and softly lulls me to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Seven** _

**Sacrifice**

* * *

 

 

Athens is lovely this time of year. The breeze is nice and chilly, the sun lukewarm against the skin, and the people… Well, I've got to say that these people have a great hand for hospitality.

Every corner we turn we keep seeing more stands of food giving away samples of their catch. Those who gave out usually gave to those who were less fortunate with their food while others shared what they had. Sadly this seemed to end when we started walking through the richer pool.

There things changed like they always did. Sneers and scowls were thrown each other way to us. This was something that has happened every time now. I've learned that in this world there are things that have a set place and I've seen divisions for each. So far, I've seen four.

The rich. They are the most easy to spot. Well-dressed, mannered with each other; they have food and commodities that about three quarters of the others don't have. But that doesn't make them any better than those three quarters. If anything it makes them worse. It's like all those that I've seen back home; basically snobs.

The poor. Also easy to spot. They aren't beggars but they do have it tough. They still have food but a lot of people take advantage of them. Some of them are even valets or something of the kind for the upper classes.

The middle class. That one explains itself. They aren't poor or rich so they're okay. They're the ones that my family and I would fall into—back in my world that is. Here, they would be considered the higher-ups with the money they won.

The last would be people like us. The homeless. We scrape by with what we have and people see us like we're nothing. We're the dirt on the bottom of their shoes. Nothing new really.

_Been there, done that._

But it all soon went away once we found our new home. All those nasty thoughts went away once we settled in here. This would be a month long work load for everybody. And as per usual our routine came onto us.

And two weeks in it broke on us again. Tyki left again for his _secret job_. The feeling of foreboding came over me the day he left. It was like I had a depthless ocean beneath my feet and if I took a step forward to ask anything about what this job was that I would plunge in, never to surface.

That is a fear that came to be ever since Barcelona. What I hadn't noticed was that it borne from far earlier yet there was nothing I could think of that could explain the fear.

And it was that _exact_ unknown fear that kept me from asking Tyki or the others about it.

_I don't want to drown._

So I kept my mouth shut and simply said goodbye to him like all the others.

And like I said, it's been two weeks since then. It's been nice being here in Athens. I've always read about these places. Greek mythology has always fascinated me too. Other books I've read that talk about it have always peeked my interest. I'm a fan, to say the least.

So we're here at the marketplace for our groceries as per usual. Because we're so close to the ocean, we see so much more diversity of foods especially in the crustacean variety. I've missed a lot of dishes and I plan to make something good out of it.

"What do you think, Eeze? You think they'll like it?" I ask him after we choose what we're going to take for the day. Eeze stares mesmerized at an ogling dead fish. I can see that he wants to poke its eye and half of me wants him to do it. Before the lady can give us our stuff, I stifle a chuckle and grab his hand to keep the temptation away from him. Once done the lady gives us our fish and I let go of his hand before reaching into my bag and paying up. After that is when we start going our way back home. The crowd in the marketplace is not much so I'm not worried that he'll get lost.

"So you've never had fish before, huh? Don't worry. The way I learned to make it will make you guys love it." All I hear above the chatter is an 'mm' from him and smile at his enthusiasm. "You'll love it too, kiddo. It's great with lemon and—"

_Thud._

It's like I'm having déjà vu. At turning around to search for the cause of the sudden sound, my breath hitches and I drop everything I have in my hands.

" _ **Eeze!"**_

His name comes out of my mouth at the top of my lungs the instant I see him collapsed on the floor. People pass by and don't bother with me when I simply push them aside to slide and reach Eeze. His name escapes numerous times from my lips in a rapid but low voice at reaching him. He's collapsed completely but still conscious. He's wheezing and his chest is jerking too much; he's having trouble breathing.

_His lungs are weak._

The instant I remember his ailment I know that I must be as calm as I can be in this situation. I have to think. He's breathing is getting even harder. It's getting harder for him to breath.

" _Kat has severe asthma, Reina. It's been a while but it is possible for her lungs to collapse. And if they do, you've got to know what to do if we're gone."_

_That's it._

Keeping my own breathing steady, I brushed his hair back and whisper to him. " _No te preocupes, amor._ Don't worry."

Slipping into my native tongue without thinking, I ignore it and instead open his jacket before putting my ear up to his right side.

" _When her lung collapses, it'll get hard for Kat to breath. She'll start wheezing. But if you listen carefully to her lungs, you can tell which one has collapsed because you won't hear the air flowing."_

_It isn't his right._

I clicked my tongue and switch to his left. This time every time he breaths I hear _nothing_.

_It's his left._

As quick as I can, I begin searching in my bag for what I need.

" _Once you know which is collapsed, you'll need to re-inflate it. Mom and Dad have one of their own. And this I'm giving to you. You need to keep it with you at all times just in case you need to do it. I'll show you how."_

"Relax, _amor._ Try taking deep breaths." I keep saying while trying to get him to breathe as deeply as he can to get the most oxygen from his one working lung while I find what I'm looking for. Finally, my fingers touch to covered needle and take out the syringe.

Holding it by the cover between my teeth, I pull Eeze's shirt over his chest and expose it. My fingers pass over his ribs while I count under my breath until I get to where his lung is. I pull the needle from the cap and pull out the plunger as fast as I can.

_Two fingers between the spot and aim, Reina._

My fingers are planted firmly and then I stab the area with the needle. The instant I hear air hissing out of the syringe and Eeze take a deep, wheezing breath, I take one myself in utter relief.

_But we're not out of the woods yet._

It could be the adrenaline or something else but my hands reach out and pull him up to me. "We're going home, _amor._ I'm taking you home." Before I even know it, I'm carrying him in my arms careful not to let the syringe come off.

It's not that far of a walk home but it feels like an eternity. Eeze's breathing is still labored but it isn't as bad as before. But a simple syringe to let the air out won't help him for long. By the time I push the door open and step inside my arms are ready to give out. Thankfully Momo and Clark are there but are more concerned with Eeze's state, as am I.

"W-What happened?"

"His—lungs!" My breathing is labored too but I take a breath to explain when Momo carefully takes him to lay him down. "His left collapsed. His breathing is getting worse."

"You fixed it?" Clark inquired glancing at the syringe.

But I shake my head fervently. "It's not a solution. He needs a good tubing and oxygen to get the air out of his chest and to expand his lung. We _need_ to take him to the hospital."

"They won't help us." Momo's statement stops me in my tracks. He's right. Here, if you can't pay up for treatment and stay, they won't help you. And we don't have the money.

_But he won't get better._

" _What can happen if her lung is left like that?"_

" _The other will collapse from too much strain…and she won't be able to breathe."_

_I can't let him die._

Again, I shake my head and get to Eeze. "Take him to the hospital."

"But—"

"Just go! Eeze won't last much without both his lungs. Take him. I'll take care of bringing the money over to the hospital." They stare at me as if I'm crazy but they won't move. This is getting me pissed off more than I can bare. " _ **Just go already!**_ "

At hearing me scream, they finally snap out of their stupor and start doing as I told them. They take Eeze, and after I tell them what to be careful with they head for the hospital. Running into my room, I search around in my duffle bag before grabbing what I want and put it in my bag. Although it hurts me to do this, I can't waste another second.

_Eeze is more important._

* * *

At the hospital, Eeze was quickly taken in to be taken care of. The nurses and doctor remove the syringe only to replace it with proper tubing and his mask to put on an oxygen mask. Momo and Clark could do nothing but watch over the kid as they were treating him.

The nurse that stayed behind with them explained what the boy had suffered. Because of the ailment of his lungs, they were more concerned in trying to inflate his lung back up…if they could. The nurse also told them that because of the severity of the damage done that there could the slight chance that it wouldn't recuperate.

If that were to be the case then the boy would walk a thin line in his life.

He either lived the rest of his life ghastly gasping for each and every breath or his other lung would collapse from overexertion and he would stop breathing.

Either way there was no way to tell how he would react to treatment.

"How long will he need to stay here?" Momo asked already dreading that they couldn't afford the treatment that could have a chance of saving little Eeze.

"It'll take some time for the treatment to work—" She abruptly stops herself and purses her lips but the guys heard her thought loud and clear. _If it does._ Diverting back to the situation at hand, the nurse continues. "There's a two day standard to see whether it'll work or not but in his case it may take a little longer."

The guys only stared at each other with the same worried glances. They cared deeply for the boy and they wanted for him to have the treatment he needed but without the money…he was as good as dead.

"As for the expenses—" The nurse didn't waste any time with the second most important question and leads them to the front desk before giving them the estimate. The displeasure and fear grew in them tenfold at seeing the sum of money they would require. It was eight times what they won in a _good_ week.

Too much money for them to pay alone.

"Don't worry about the expenses." They both turned around to finally see Reina again standing not far from the front desk. She was winded and panting heavily, her face reddened and sweat beading down her face and neck as if she had just ran a marathon. But the determined look on her features didn't deter from the confidence she felt. Raising one hand, she swiftly tossed a heavily loaded bag onto the nurses' desk. The women jumped up at the noise when they hadn't expected it. "Whatever they are, I'm sure that will cover it."

Momo and Clark only stared at the nurses who were murmuring amongst themselves, asking about the amount inside the bag. The look on the attending nurse after counting was astonishing. "There's over half a quarter of a million here."

"W-What?!"

The guys only turn to their lil' queen with awe while Reina only lowers her gaze. Once she hears the nurses starting to calm down, she asks. "Where's he being kept?"

"A-Ah! Of course! Let me take you there." She bowed before her before taking the lead with Reina almost stepping on her heels. Momo and Clark only stared dumbfounded at each other while they stayed behind and even overheard the nurses' gossip.

"They looked so dirt poor!"

"That girl must've sold something amazing to get this amount in one sell."

"Hopefully, the treatment will work though. The boy's too young to be crippled like that."

The guys, getting tired of the needless gossiping head towards the room they had just left. The moment they step into the hospital room, the scene mimicked the instant they brought Eeze some minutes ago.

Reina was busying herself here and there while asking the attending nurse question after question.

Had they disinfected him properly?

Had they properly inserted the tubing so that it didn't puncture the lung by accident?

Was his oxygen level improving, worsening, or remaining the same?

Were there any complications at his admission?

Countless other questions where the ones that they heard her inquire out of the already confused nurse. The older woman was supposed to be the knowledgeable one about what was happening to Eeze, but it seemed that Reina was much more on her toes about it.

When she was finally satisfied with the answers she was given, Reina took a chair from the wall and brought it up close to Eeze's bedside. The boy was disheveled to her eyes; his hair was matted, his eyes a lot more sunken than usual, and his clothes changed into a patient's garb. The I.V. and abdomen tubing were disheartening to Reina but the fact that he was at least taking deep breaths and that his heartbeat was within normal range gave her some ease.

But Reina knew that Eeze wasn't out of the woods yet. If there was any hope for him to get better, he'd have to have constant oxygen given in hopes for his lung to re-inflate by itself. If it did then that would be a good start.

"Lil' queen, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Reina could barely hear Momo's voice over the constant beeping.

"He'll be okay, lil' queen. There's no need to cry."

When Clark's words reached her ears, her eyes widened in shock. Quickly as she could, she wiped at the corners of her eyes and, surely enough, they were damp. She sniffs away to distract from her wiping them off and nods.

Reina turns to them and gives them a small smile. "We've all had a long day, I guess. You guys should go back, eat and get some rest. You've got work tomorrow."

"We're not leaving you here by yourself," Momo assured her and that thought only made her smile bigger.

But she knew they couldn't stay. What she had done might have saved them the cost of the hospital stay but all the rest was still up for grabs. They needed money to travel on forth, especially if there was a possibility that Eeze's stay could prolong theirs. They would need whatever they could gather from now on. At telling them this, she finally manages to get them to understand.

"We'll go, lil' queen," Momo finally agrees after a good half an hour of arguing. "But we'll be coming back after work every day from now on. And don't hesitate to call the phone near the house if you need something or anything happens."

With a final nod and a grand thank you, she walks them to the door of the room. But before they can go, they both turn with a pending question that they could not just leave unanswered.

"Where did you get that kind of money, lil' queen?"

The small, wry smile that came to Reina's lips instantly made them regret the question but she quickly changed it back to a real smile. "Whatever it was, it isn't important anymore. All that matters now is that Eeze gets the treatment he needs."

They look at each other with nothing more in mind to say. Assuring her it would all be okay, they go on and leave for the night. Returning to the seat that she had left, Reina grabs ahold of Eeze's hand in hers while brushing the strands of hair from his face with the other.

" _Te aliviaras, amor._ _Te prometo, si es lo último que hare, no me iré hasta verte mejor."_

* * *

The next couple of days were torture for me.

Eeze had come to be in a deep sleep and wasn't showing any signs of waking. The doctors said that it was just overexertion that had taken him after being hit by his lung collapsing. And it must be because he isn't showing any signs of having fallen into a coma. But it still wrung my heart to see him just lying there.

No smiles.

No laughter.

Just constant beeping.

The days, hours, and seconds strike like knives against my heart. Every day that I see him there without waking kills me inside. Never in my life had I seen Kat fall ill like this but I knew that if I had, that what I felt now was but a fraction of what I would've felt.

If Kat had gotten ill, there would be others to take care of her if I couldn't. She'd be safe and in the best hands.

Now that Eeze has fallen gravely ill, he only has one person who can see to him 24/7: me. And if I would ever leave his side, I dreaded the worst would happen.

So I never leave his side. No matter the circumstances, I'm always inside that room. Even when the boys want me to eat or go take a shower. I tell them that I don't want to leave his side and they seem to understand just fine. They bring me food from other places which I eat here and if I showered, I would take quick ones wasting as little time as I could.

I just had this incessant feeling that I _needed_ to be by his side…always holding his hand. It was like a desperate need to keep him anchored to me so that he knew where to return to when he awoke. If I hold his hand, he'll know where to follow.

But a day went by, then another, and another without him waking. And each passing hour only harbored more dread in my being.

The night of the third day was just like the others. I was just about dozing off while holding onto his hand. And soon I did. It felt like a few seconds after that someone shook my shoulder slightly.

At feeling the uncomfortable movement, I swat the hand away but it comes back with a vengeance and finally wakes me up. Groggily, I wipe at my eyes with my one free hand before glancing way up and over my shoulder. It takes me a few seconds to adjust to the darkness in the room but I don't need them. Only one person that I know makes me arch my neck back this far.

"Tyki…?" My voice isn't anything over a whisper and it's hoarse.

He gives me a small smile that is slightly gentle before he turns around. My eyes follow him only to see that he's grabbing another chair from somewhere to pull it in front of me and beside Eeze's bedside before he sits down.

"How'd you know I was—"

"I came in just now to the house," he says not moving his gaze from the sick boy that lays between us. "When I saw the guys but not you and Eeze, I immediately knew something had happened. Never did I imagine it was something this serious. When they told me, I just had to come and see you guys." He lets his large palm rest upon the sleeping Eeze's head before brushing his fingers through his hair. He does it almost adoringly and it brings a sense of likeness to what I've done these days. Just holding him dearly. "What happened?"

The question takes me by surprise but I answer him after a while. It takes a bit of time to explain to him what had happened that day at the marketplace when it was still a big blur to me. He collapsed, I tried helping him, we brought him here and he hadn't woken up since he fell asleep here. He lets a silence seep in after I'm done and uses it to brush his fingers across his hair again for good measure.

"Where'd you get the money?"

Like the first day that they had asked, Tyki's question is the one I had been expecting so it doesn't take me that much by surprise. A slight chuckle escapes me and I avoid meeting his eyes and instead turn them to watch Eeze's sleeping face while gently brushing my thumb back and forth on the back of his hand. "I know it's a lot of money but I didn't sell myself like all of you think."

He shares a slight laugh with me. "I know you didn't." That one sentence fills me with relief and his tone tells me that he's not planning to dig any further.

A small music box tune playing note by note distracts me from that relief and instead makes my eyes go wide and turn towards the sound.

There on the bedside next to Eeze's shoulder is my pocket mirror open and playing its tune in a soft and gentle chorus. My bewildered sight goes to Tyki who only sits back on his chair while keeping eye contact with me.

He gives me a smile before speaking himself when I cannot find the words to. "When the guys told me that you had taken care of the hospital bill with such an absurd amount of money, I knew what you had done." He briefly nods his head towards the piece of artwork that now laid on the bed. "And even though I knew, I couldn't wrap my head around the reason why you did it when it is so important to you."

My astonishment slowly went away with his explanation. I wasn't really expecting any of them to realize I had sold the music box to the highest bidder. It wasn't hard especially with the many little gemstones that thing has incrusted. But _he_ had. He knew the instant he heard from the others what I had done that I had taken the only precious object I had, both monetarily and as a memento, and sold it.

And the odd thing was that I hadn't doubted for a second about selling it. After I made my decision, the only thought in my head was that Eeze's life was worth much more than a trinket like that.

"Like you said, it's been important to me and it'll always be because of the memories that it created. But I knew the instant I decided to sell it that it didn't matter whether I had the mirror or not. Those memories would stay with me for years to come so long as I held them close to me. And so long as I did, there was no need for it anymore. It wasn't worth keeping for Eeze's wellbeing."

"You're right. But memories tend, more often than not, to fade back into black especially the important ones. A little reminder here and there of the good times is always important." His hands reach out towards the mirror and wind it like he had seen me done so once. The music starts playing again. "And now that Eeze is in good hands and _will_ get better, we'll all be fine. Now you see, no need to throw it away."

_He should be…shouldn't he?_

Yet every day it felt like he was slipping ever so slowly from me. No matter how tightly I held his hand, I just felt him get further and further away. And I didn't want that. I need him here with me…with us.

We're his family and losing him would only tear us apart. He was everything to us—he's everything to me.

The music keeps on playing and words from that song have never wrung truer than now.

" _You are my sunshine_  
My only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are gray  
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you—"

My hold on his hand tightens and the tears prick the edge of my eyes but I can't let them spill. To cry now would only mean I've lost all hope of him returning to us. And that is something I will never lose to.

" _Please don't take my sunshine away—"_

In the last words that barely come out as a whisper, I raise from my sit and stand over him before gently placing a kiss on his forehead before placing my own upon his.

The silence seeps in and is broken yet again.

"Rei-nee? Tyki?"

His voice makes my eyes open and the tears I was holding back spill over my cheeks. At pulling back, in the dark, all I see are his baby blue eyes groggily glancing up at me.

I can't believe it. I'm so dumbfounded that I can't even ask him if he's really awake. It's Tyki who takes the chance but sounds just as amazed as me. "Eeze?"

A small smile forms on his lips that I couldn't be happier to see. "I'm hungry."

A chuckle escapes me and so do the tears as I come up and hug him. He hugs me back and from how close my ear is to his chest, I can hear his steady, _normal_ breathing and it finally hits me.

_He's really all right._

" _Oh amor, claro._ I'll get you whatever you want. _Solo dime."_ I'm so out of it that I'm spilling words around in both English and Spanish. But I didn't care.

_He's going to be okay._

Tyki ruffles his head gently and shares my relief with a smile. "You must be hungry as a bull, too."

"I'll go get you something, _amor._ Just wait—I'll get you the best there is here."

It took some time to find food this late at the hospital but I found somewhere that they would give me something for the boy that just woke up. Because I knew I couldn't just give him anything because he'd just woken up, I knew that soup would be okay for now.

But by the time I reach the hallway where his room is all I see is Tyki slowly coming out of the room. We meet outside the door and he only smiles before explaining to me, "He fell asleep again."

"He's hungry though," the worry in my voice is plain even to me.

"He'll wake up later even hungrier, don't worry." He assures me of that quickly and takes the tray with the food from my hands and walks over to the bench outside of the room. He lays the tray there beside him, sits down and pats the other side that's free for me to sit down. "You've done well taking care of him."

"And I'll continue to until he gets out and even afterward," I assure him with a smile. It won't be long now for that since he's awake and that he's breathing is back to normal.

_Thank goodness the treatment worked._

"You should go home and rest. Eat this up while it's here. I don't think he'll wake up anytime soon after this. At least he's okay now." My rambling isn't stopping but I don't mind it. I'm too relieved to keep my thoughts to myself.

"Yeah, you're the best at taking care of him," he agrees and reaches out his hand to me and lays my pocket mirror onto my lap. He gets up with the intent to leave. "So I'll listen to you once in my life."

It still amazes me how he managed to figure what I had given up and still took the time to get it back. I don't want to know how he did but he did it.

_And he did it so that I wouldn't forget. For my sake._

And that just warmed me so much that I couldn't understand. No one but Jaden had been this nice to me. And Jaden had already had my trust and to make me feel like this wasn't hard. But Tyki, we hadn't known each other for more than seven months already and yet he knew how to make me feel special. He knew how to speak to me and it felt normal.

And he seemed to know me.

_Could it be true…? Or_ too _true_.

But before I could even stop the doubts in my brain, my lips spoke out of line. "Tyki." He turns at hearing me call to him with a perplexed look. Before I can even stop myself, I come up close to him and stand as tall as I could and even had to reach up with my tip toes and place a gentle peck on his cheek.

Beneath my lips, his cheek is rough with whiskers where he hadn't shaved and is warm from his body. It was quick and simple and although it was kind of hard to look him in the eye, I look up and smile.

"Thank you…for returning my mirror to me." Without another word, I slip inside the room to go back to Eeze's side to hold his hand and wait for him to wake up in the morning.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Eight** _

**Mad Jamboree**

* * *

"You lot can't just ignore what happened?! We need to have a back-up for stuff like this!"

But it was useless. Even though I was yelling at the top of my lungs at them, they wouldn't budge. They didn't understand the pressure I had for this though.

It's barely been a few days since Eeze was released from the hospital and he was told to take it easy for a while. So I took up going out, making dinner and tending to him while the guys worked but the nagging feeling never went away.

Although we had—thankfully—avoided the emergency this time there was no saying if it would happen again. I prayed to the gods that it didn't but there was no telling what the bitches of Fate would toss to anyone. Eeze had dodged a bullet but what could we do if it happened again?

"Pipe it down, lil' queen." Momo tried hushing me but I was having none of that. Even though it had been just a short while ago, things had already began falling back into routine and that's what's bugging me.

_It's like they don't give a damn about what happened!?_

"Don't tell me to pipe down!" I continue on with my rage fit and pace around with heavy footfalls after they came home. Thankfully, we had already eaten and I had tucked Eeze to bed a good hour ago so he was dead to the world. That meant I could fully blow out at them without fearing that he would see me this angry.

_Because when I get livid like this, boy, I let it show._

_Full color and full volume._

"Who lit your fuse?" Clark jokes around and that only ignites that anger further.

"You!?" I finally snapped making all three of them flinch at my high-pitched yelling. "How can you be so easy-going after what happened?! This could happen again! We need to prepare for it."

"Prepare how?" Tyki asks taking a gulp of his beer. "With the money and expenses we make, saving up isn't something we can hope for."

"What about saving from that other job of yours? At least a little," I propose giving a pointed look not caring that I was asking something I'd rather not tread through.

"But that's what we use to lay easy for a while," the three whine unanimously and that only adds more to my fury.

_I swear I will cut a bitch…_

"Chill some, Reina." Tyki's lilting voice calls my name with every syllable and it's something I don't miss. It's not enough to appease me but I take a deep breath to keep myself from actually shanking one of them. He gets up and tells the guys to go on before them to sleep. Not believing how easily they're taking this, I simply go on to the kitchen and go clean something. Whatever there is I clean it just so that I can keep my mind—and hands—occupied.

His overwhelming presence comes over me much before his voices reaches. "All calm now?"

"Not one bit!" I didn't yell it but my voice was still raised. The tension in my body just won't go away because of how lightly they're taking this past occurrence. My hands are busy lathering the dishes with soap when I feel something brushing my hair to the side. Before I know it a pair of hands land on my shoulders and start to knead them.

At first it's slow and gentle but then it takes enough force to let me relax my squared shoulders. By then I had stopped washing the dishes and had closed my eyes at how awfully wonderful it felt.

 _This_ …is something I notice is becoming common.

These subtle touches here and there ever since Eeze and I came back from the hospital. At first I thought nothing of it mostly because he was doing the same with Eeze; actually, all of us pampered him the first day he came back home with us. It was after that I realized that he had stopped with Eeze…but seemed to get gradually more intrusive with me.

It started with his fingers brushing against mine or against my arm. Then it was his fingers brushing against my hips when he would wrangle me over with the rest. Now it had escalated to more daring caresses on my shoulders or waist.

When it started I hadn't bothered to correct him about them; now it seems that I'm enjoying them too much to say no.

This might have been enticed more than likely because of that chaste kiss. I wasn't going to deny that he wasn't growing on me more so than the rest. But liking someone wasn't something I could afford right now.

 _Even if I could…I still have_ him _waiting for me back home._

And _his_ is a trust I can't betray.

The mere thought of that breaks the trance I'm in and I reach my hands up to stop his from moving. Taking a deep breath, I let the anxiety and anger rush out of me with it. My hands take his own off me and I turn around to look at him.

He's clearly a bit amazed that I stopped him— _cocky bastard—_ but I just grimace at him. "I know what you're trying to do."

"Really? And here I thought I was being suave."

My annoyance at him grows because of that confidence but I let it slide for now. "I haven't forgotten what we were discussing, Tyki. And I was serious." I drop his hands and he pockets them and this time seems to seriously be listening to me.

_Since they can't seem to raise some extra money on their own maybe…_

"I think I should get a job."

"No way."

The answer is crisp and clean and he doesn't give way for a rebuttal because he instantly starts heading to the room. Before he can go, though, I grab onto his arm and try my best to stop the mastodon of a man. "Tyki, please listen to me." This quiet plea makes him stop but he doesn't turn. That's good enough for me. "I'm doing this for Eeze's sake. None of us want a repeat of what happened but he _is_ sick. That makes it at least five times likelier that he'll experience something like that again."

"Then we'll deal with it when we come to that." He starts making his way again.

"B-But what if we can't!" My voice raises slightly and he stops again. "I don't want to see him like that ever again. You have to understand that I want to help too."

"A job isn't something you get so easy, Reina. We move too much and people don't just let girls work for them unless it's _that_."

_Good points._

But still I wasn't about to give up.

"Then what about working with you." Maybe I had stepped on a landmine because he suddenly tensed slightly under my hold. But it was too late to stop now.

"With me?"

"On that secret job you do?" The fact I'm trying to state ends up as a question but I clear my throat and continue with my argument. "It pays well, doesn't it? And all you ever talk about is attending events and searching for people. I can help you! Even if only for a little bit, it'll be something—"

"Forget it." This time he seems vehement about going to the room.

"But Tyki—"

This time it wasn't Tyki who answers, it's a growling animal that's furious at me.

"I said _**drop it**_ **!** "

His voice drops octaves and the fact that he raised his voice is something that shocks me a bit, enough to let go of his arm and stare. He clicks his tongue and simple turns around to go into the room leaving me in the dead of silence.

* * *

After we leave Athens, we find ourselves in the little town of Dewgood. Because it was a month long job again, I take the advantage that they left us alone for most of the day to go look for a part-time job.

To heck if they didn't approve. I wasn't about to stand around and wait for another accident to happen. Eeze would ask me why I did this if the guys didn't want me to, and I only told him that it was for him. This seems to settle with him and lets me keep searching…but it's harder than I thought.

I hate to say this but Tyki was right. No one wants a girl that doesn't have much experience and that won't be staying for long. I've had experience working just not in any jobs that they would deem fit for a woman to do here. The issue about time I understood yet it was a lame excuse.

I went by every store and stand in the city for the first three days and each night I came back with nothing. It was getting rather annoying. And every time that I see Eeze smiling happily by our side, the more I yearn to be of help to avoid a tragedy.

So I decide to make a hole six feet deep…for me, of course—what, with the plan I came up with I might need it if I fail.

After Tyki's brusque reaction at merely suggesting my working with him in that job of his, if he knew what I'm planning now he would kill me in my sleep. And that would be merciful.

The end of the week is when I can finally put my plan in motion. Tyki just got a call for this job of his and he's packing up to go.

When he's close to finishing packing, I make my move. "Oh, damn. We're out of water!" Grabbing the bucket for the well outside, I come up to the group. "Sorry, I'll go on and do this. Take care at your job, Tyki."

"Yeah, thanks." His reply is a bit lackluster but I leave before he can get any inquiry out of me. Once outside, I only have to go around the corner of the house we're staying in and place the bucket somewhere to wait.

A few minutes pass before I hear the door open, the guys say their quick farewells, and then the door close back up again. I can't screw this up.

_Take it easy, Reina. You've done stake outs a million and one times. You've got this, girl._

And even after ten years, I still got it. Corner by corner, I keep a clear distance from Tyki as I follow him through the alleyways. It's not hard to follow him especially because he's so absentminded about everything. By the way he's going it seems he's heading for the station but it's odd that he's taking the back alleys. Not minding that, I quickly follow after he goes a few feet and turns a corner.

I trot after him but am amazed when I glance over the corner and don't see him.

_He's gone?!_

That's impossible, though. There weren't any corners he could've turned. No other alleyways. Nothing. All that stands before me is the tunnel that the train takes before reaching the station. I saw him turn this way.

Had I misjudged?

_No way. I took every precaution._

And yet he slipped through me. I lost him.

* * *

_How the fuck is this happening?!_

It's hard to keep my aggravated voice from saying what my mind thought but I'm seriously at wits' end! Throughout the month, he's gone and come back three times and all those times that I've followed him, he's Houdini-ed he's freaking way out!

We had already changed towns for another month and he had returned ever since we left Dewgood. So far no calls had come for him until the second day. As always I made a stupid excuse— _believe me, they were getting stupider every time_ —and snuck my way out of the house before he left.

This time when he left and I start following him, I decide to risk it and follow him closer than before. It wasn't stepping-on-his-heels close but it's still pretty damn close.

And yet—

" _ **How the hell does he keep avoiding me!?"**_

There was no stopping my voice when it finally came out this time with all the agitation that I had cooped up ever since I started this stupid crusade. And every failure was just egging me to show him I could outsmart him.

But so far…

" _You're amusingly petty."_

_This voice!_

"You're—" My soft whisper was quieted by his stifled chuckles. A pout came to my cheeks at knowing he was trying hard not to laugh at me. Yet it all quickly went away when my thoughts came back to him.

I hadn't heard from this man ever since I joined the crew in their journey. That was almost ten months ago.

_What's so funny, anyway?_

" _You trying to follow someone like Joyd."_

"Joyd?" The word was out of my mouth before I knew it. It was just so strange and out of place that I couldn't help myself. "Who are you talking about?"

" _Oh right. It's Tyki, isn't it?"_ He lets out another stifled chuckle before continuing. _Jerk. "It's no use for you to stalk him like that. You'll never catch up."_

"Then, pray tell, what the hell I can do to find where he's going? I'm tired of being the idiot in this little chase." There was a pause that unsettles me quite much that I didn't know if I wanted to break it. That was until I did. "Um, guy's voice? You there?"

" _You really want to find where he is?"_

His tone of voice had drastically changed from a few seconds ago. Before, he was playing around and goofing off; now, he seems dead serious and hesitant about letting me know.

_But if he knew…_

"Yeah. I want to know. I have to."

" _Why?"_

"Because of Eeze."

" _Is he really the_ only _reason?"_

That made me hesitate a little. True, I was doing this for Eeze but it was also true that I have ulterior motives. I suppose that Eeze's emergency only gave me a reason to pursue this.

"I won't lie; I'm curious, too, about where it is he goes every time and what he does."

" _At least you're truthful, I'll give you that. But you're not dumb, you're like an animal. Those instincts have always kept you on your toes—alive. Do you really want to go against them?"_

My brain said: _No._

Everything else—"I want to know."

A few seconds pass by before he sighs and it's as if a smile had formed on his nonexistent lips. _"You are the foreteller and you get to decide where your part plays a role in. Very well, I'll guide you to where he is."_

"Really?" That felt much simpler that I thought it would turn out to be.

" _But remember, this world you are in isn't your own. Here, different laws apply and different powers are at play. Whatever you do, don't fall victim to_ his madness."

_His?_

This time it didn't sound like he was talking about Tyki but before I can ask anything I feel goose bumps grow on my arms. Instinctively my hands reach up to my arms to rub them but the feeling doesn't go away until after a few seconds.

" _See that door over there?"_ Despite not being able to see where he was referring to, I knew the door because it's where most of the pressure I felt before was coming from. As if knowing that I knew already, he continues. _"Take it and go inside. You'll arrive at a city. If you head for the tower at the center it's more than likely that you'll find him."_

Tower? What the hell—

" _Remember, this isn't your world anymore."_

"And anything's possible here where I haven't really a clue what's going on." I've understood that ever since he spoke to me in that forest about being the foreteller. This isn't my home and this isn't my world. Anything that was normal before could be the most aberrant now. But that didn't deter me much. Walking over to the door, I place my hand on the doorknob and just feel that strange pressure slightly on me again. "What will happen if I go in there?"

" _That's for you to find out, if you so wish to."_

Tired of the strangeness and obliqueness he was saying at me, I decide to ignore the jeering tone of his voice and enter through the door.

At going through, I feel nothing but the pressure for a few seconds before it's completely gone. It isn't something that I notice straight from the bat but I close my eyes while going through the door and when I open them again, I'm not at the rundown alleyway any longer.

What stands before me is a room of the purest white. A piano stands to one side and a couch to the other, both a stark white.

_Headache approaching._

I hate the color white. With a passion.

"Get me out of here," I mumble and out of the blue the sound of a key stroke makes me jump in my skin. My eyes linger on the piano but see no key pushed down and most importantly, no one playing it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a ray of light shoot from the ground a few inches above my head and then stretch out to both sides. The glow goes away to show the door that materialized before me.

Oh boy.

_Take a breath, Reina._

This is whack even if it is a hallucination from a coma I'm pretty sure I'm not in. But at knowing that there's a possibility that it was all too real, I decide to tread forth and go through that white door too.

What meets me in the other end is a marble city of white. The buildings are structured oddly but nothing that I can't remember seeing in old architectural books from school. There's even birds flying about. But the one thing that I don't see that unsettles me the most is people. There's not a soul roaming the clean streets. Only row after row of houses and monuments.

"My goodness…" I can't help but stare in awe at the whole city even going so far as to slowly turn a full 360 to see it. The moment my eyes catch sight of a tower, though, I stop myself. "He said follow the tower."

_And Tyki would be there._

But now that I connected the two together…what could Tyki possibly be involved with if _this_ is where he goes to for his job?

_What the hell did I get myself into?_

But no one answers. So I decide to help myself.

_You want to know, that's why you're here. So go on and find out what the hell's going on._

With renewed confidence, I take my first steps towards the tower. The fact that it's so lonesome doesn't bode well with me but I let it slide and instead concentrate on the tower in the distance. But I'm too concentrated and the instant I hear the chiming of a bell ring nearby, I'm freakishly startled that I jump back and hold onto my chest.

My eyes dart around for the source and I can finally will my heart to slow down when all I see is a black cat, one with a red ribbon tied around its neck with the bell I heard and an odd mark on its forehead. And we're at a standstill. I won't move and it won't move. Finally I decide to move it from my way. "Shoo, get out of my way!" I raise my voice enough for it to go out of the way and watch it jump onto the rooftops towards goodness knew where. "Damn cat." Letting go of my growing anxiety, I simply continue with my walk towards that tower. I'm already twenty minutes in and getting closer when a sudden sound catches my attention.

It's the clicking of a gun's safety going off—two of them.

"Well, what do we got here?" The voice is new and clearly of a boy; it's a bit high and raspy but clearly of a teenager. I don't dare make any sudden movements to turn and see his face because of the gun I know I have pointing at my back. "It's a pretty little girl!"

"It's a girl! A girl! Hee!" The second voice that suddenly screeches into the conversation makes me cringe. It's not as high but it's childish. Small remarks and a high-pitched giggle, too.

"Lulu wasn't kidding either, she's human! Wonder how she got in here? Let's find out, yeah?"

"Let's rip it out of her!"

At the cheekiest voice ending its speech, I feel the end of the gun that pinches my back.

_Okay, playtime's over._

"Ah!" The dual screech is what I hear when I swiftly pivot and disarm the one pointing their gun at me. Every thing's a blur but I manage to dodge the other that was gunning at me by diving towards the closest building. Not even waiting to recover from my dive, I roll over to a quick stand and make a run for it.

The gun in my hand is made of gold and heavy. It's been awhile but I hope I still am as good a shot as I was back then.

Every corner that I turn, I try my best to keep a clear route towards the tower while still avoiding the boys that are hot on my heels. It's when I give a slight glance over my shoulder while turning a corner that I lose my footing. This is because of the sudden wall that I hit.

_Shit, Reina. This isn't the time to run into walls!_

My eyes turn up and freeze when I see what I _really_ had bumped into. A man was standing before me and he was massive. Like the Neanderthal kind of massive. He growls underneath his scowl and that puts me back on full alert. His movements are slow which I notice when his hand lethargically comes up to scratch his head.

"You dumb girl."

_Who're you calling dumb, Forest?_

But calling outdated taunts like those isn't going to help me.

"Ah, you're the one that got in here without permission." He fists his hand and punches his open hand. "Not allowed."

"Shit—" Taking a stance in case the gun gives out a heavy recoil, I steady my hand and aim for his legs. But when I pull the trigger all I hear is the emptiness of the magazine.

_There's no bullets._

" _ **Gotcha!"**_

The thought comes and goes in the blink of an eye before two heavy figures tackle me to the ground with force. I try my best to get them off of me; punch one in the gut and smack the other with the grip of the gun. After that it's when I'm finally free to get up but get nowhere before I see a flash of ashen skin that darts in front of my eyes and then feel the sharp and intense pain in my stomach. The force of the punch this man gave me leaves me breathless and weak. The moment he retreats his fist my body's so weak that I can only go onto my knees and hold my stomach before I fall to my side heavily in pain.

But it isn't enough for these people. One of the kids from before gives me a hard kick on my leg. "You bitch! How dare you hurt us?!"

"Yeah!" The other childish one kicks me just the same but on my back. "How dare you!?" My whole body is still weak from that one punch so I can do nothing more than shield my head from any damage.

" **Stop."**

The voice that speaks up makes the two stop and turn towards the owner of it as do I. The one who'd stopped those maniacs was a woman. A beautiful one at that. Despite how blurry my vision is, I can tell she's more gifted in a lot of areas I lack. And despite it, I can also see the distinct ashen skin she has.

"She's a little bitch, Lulu! She hit us!" The first boy that I heard was one that I could now distinguish as having black hair and very ashen skin as he pointedly gives me a look and holds his gut.

"My face!" The other is a blonde with long hair and very odd gear but the same ashen skin as the others. He sniffles while holding his cheek.

_Bastard deserved it._

"Road wants to see her."

It must have been someone important to them because of how they reacted. That or they really hated this 'Road'. The two boys started bitching but it was the giant man that actually grabs me by my arms and pulls me up. He's so much taller and bigger than me that he lifts me clean off the floor and holds both my wrists over my head with one hand. My weight is so much that I can feel my shoulders dislocating from how he's holding me.

I thought it couldn't get worse but I had to endure this pain for maybe twenty minutes more as they took me to wherever they were taking me. I was so busy fighting and kicking, trying to get his grip off my wrists that I'm not really paying attention to where we're going.

It isn't until the whiteness darkens that I finally stop struggling and put more attention to where we are. This time I'm met with nothing but darkness; we must've passed through some door because we're now going down a hallway that ends up in a very odd room.

All kinds of telephones are littered across the room; on the floor, on tables, and atop gift boxes. Didn't have a clue as to what they are for but it isn't my priority to find out. Instead, what gets my attention the most is the single rocking chair in the middle of the room. Sitting on it is a very large person—man, maybe?—and a top had protruding from above the chair's back.

The quartet that brought me here comes around and before I know it they toss me aside like nothing before the chair. My arms hurt so much that I can't use them to sit up and instead do my best to look up by only lifting my upper body by itself.

Something in my head rings the moment I lay my eyes on him. It's like my mind's trying to remember something I had forgotten but I can't muster for the life of me what it can be.

His smile is plastered permanently like some kind of Joker copy-cat and his outfit is outrageous and flamboyant to say the least. It amazes me somewhat that he's simply sitting there, rocking back and forth while knitting.

"Oho," his voice is annoying and that of an old man. "Haven't I taught you kids not to bring trash in the house?"

_Trash?_

"Road wanted to see her." It was the doll-like woman that answers him but I can't take my eyes away from the _man_ before me. There was just something about him that I find strangely familiar. It's at the tip of my tongue but it keeps slipping away from my grasp.

"Where is that brat, anyway?" the dark-haired boy calls clearly frustrated.

"And Lero, too," the blonde asks just as frustrated if not a bit more confused.

Names were being thrown here and there but none that I could discern or recognize. It isn't until I hear a little girl's chuckle that I find strength in my arms to pull myself up and see where she's coming from.

Who I see come out from under the shadows makes chills run down my spine.

"Kathleen?"

_No, Reina. She's not—_

But she looks just like her…except several years older. Everything was the same except the ashen skin, gold eyes and maniacal smile on her face. The girl twirls an umbrella around in her hand while walking towards me. At reaching me, she squats down to my eye level and smiles.

"Thanks for the gift, Lulubell." My eyes widen at hearing her; even her voice sounds similar, maybe a bit more taunting but it's similar.

"You asked for this, Road?" the man in the chair asks the girl that can't stop staring at me.

"Yep, I sensed something enter the Ark. She must've snuck in," the girl says and points at my nose with her finger.

"She's only human, though!" the dark-haired boy interjects with anger and frustration. "She couldn't have found her way here by herself!"

"Too dumb for humans, hee!" the blonde concurs.

_I'll seriously stab them when I can._

Not at this moment though, the girl and I are locked in a staring contest I'm not about to lose. There's something about her that won't let me look away from her taunting eyes. "Regardless of how she got here—" It was the old man that sat knitting who was speaking now. "A human's but vermin and you shouldn't toy around with it, Road."

"Aw~ But Millennium Earl~!" Her high-pitched whining is the first thing that I note is different from Kat's. She throws herself at the man who she referred to as 'Millennium Earl' and clings to his neck and continues to whine. Throwing a tantrum wasn't like Kat; despite being so young, she was very considerate of other people's feelings. Never spoilt or selfish. This girl—Road—isn't anything like her.

"And why does Road get to keep the girl?" the dark-haired boy speaks up again and this time I feel him cocking his gun very hard at my head. "We want a toy too!"

"New toy for Jasdevi, too!" the blonde joins him and cocks his gun at me too. They're empty though, I figured that out myself.

"I wonder if she's sweet, too." This time it's the huge man that sucker punched me before. His words disturb me especially because he's drooling. I don't want to even start imagining what's going on inside his head.

"A new servant is never bad. Especially if it's a human girl who can entertain to us." The woman that Road called Lulubell puts in her two cents worth while languidly glancing at her manicured nails.

Whatever all of them mean, it can't be any good. But before I can even try to escape the Earl speaks again.

"Silence, children." This gets all of them to quiet down for a bit to let him speak. He's so omnipotent where they're concern from what I've seen these last few minutes. He's the alpha here. "As I said, there's no need for vermin with the plenty of Akuma we have here."

_Akuma?_

"But Earl~"

But her whining was useless when he gave them all a pointed look that froze them in place. It even disturbs me.

"Enough, children, each of you have jobs to do so I suggest you go on about that." The four behind me don't protest any further and leave the room.

"Nee, Earl, if we can't keep her, can I play around with her?" Road was being persistent and I just knew that if she won it couldn't bode well for me. "Just a bit?"

There's a silence that tries to kill me until the Earl's answer actually deals the blow. "Sure thing, just no keeping it."

"Yay!" She turns to me and gives me the most terrifying grin I have every seen on a child.

_Fuck this._

Whatever she was planning on doing, I'm not about to stay around to find out. Mustering the adrenaline and fear that I can from in me, I get up and try running for it. Before I know it I'm out of the room and am running in the dark. But anywhere else is better than staying with that girl and her psychotic grin.

Yet before I can get anywhere, the next step I take only drops me into a deep hole. Letting out a scream, I can only feel the wind as it rushes past me as I fall. The floor beneath me comes sooner than I thought and I hit everything that had already hurt.

A groan escapes me when I can finally collect myself from the ground and I gander around the room I just fell into. It's a girl's room; a really creepy girl's room. Dolls litter the floor, some new and some broken or torn. Gifts boxes also lie around, paper ripped or brand new. Candles light the room in an eerie glow and it just amounts to the fear that I already have.

"Well—" When I hear Road's voice, I instinctively clamber up to a stand while looking for anything to use to defend myself. But there's nothing.

A thought comes over me first at seeing her come out of the shadows. Why am I afraid of a little girl?

_You know why._

That's what my brain and my instincts were telling me but the reality was that I didn't know. What my instincts are telling me just feels right. I should fear this girl. More than the guys that held guns point-blank at my head. More than the guy that punched the air out of my whole body. More than the gelid woman that so obediently brought me to them.

_If you should fear anyone, Reina, this is her. Beware of the spider._

Spiders. I hate spiders.

She grins at me again with that vicious little attitude of hers and walks closer to me. The moment I get up to start running again something grabs my forearm and wraps around it hard. When I look all I see is a ribbon that's wound tightly around it. Before I know it more wrap around my arms and body enabling my usage of them. It's then that something else hits the back of my knees making them buckle and throwing me on my knees before her.

_Shit._

She giggles cynically and while having her fingers up to her lips, licks them. "Now, now, running away won't do, big sis." Those words freeze me over. Kat had called me those same words so many times that hearing this copy-cat of her saying them felt foreign. Kat always made me feel happy and full of joy when she called me that; this girl—Road's voice only make it feel like cold water pouring over me.

Roughly, she grabs my chin with her fingers and I fight as much as I can. It isn't until she gets tired of me fighting that she finally grabs each side of my face with her hands, holding it in place to capture my glare.

"Now, big sis, hopefully you'll be sturdier than my other toys. Let's place nice, okay?"

Her words are mushed as she continues to speak them. It's like I'm losing consciousness. The last thing I see before finally seeing black are the endless chasms of gold I can't help but stare at.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Nine** _

**Dauntless**

* * *

The scent of cinnamon drifts into my nostrils the moment my eyes flutter open. Beneath me, I feel the firm mattress I'm lying on and the soft pillow below my head. My head's heavy and my eyes feel itchy.

_I must've dozed off._

This feeling only comes over me when I wake up from a nap before I'm rested. This heavy feeling all over my body that just hurts sometimes.

_But…when did I fall asleep?_

The question vanishes from my head when the scent drifts again into the room. My eyes close on their own and I take a deep breath to savor it. Cinnamon…and flour. Cinnamon pancakes.

Ah, that sounds mighty good right this moment.

Papa would always make them whenever he came home from a late shift. The thought lets a chuckle come across me; he'd always do it because he knew I would forgive him for being away from home for so long.

Wait.

I like cinnamon pancakes.

 _Nobody_ knows that. Not even Jade or Kat. Something from my past like that was something I never told anyone. It was my—our secret meal.

As if this triggers something in my brain, I snap up to sit on the bed that I'm lying on and venture a glance around the room. All over is just different shades of red and pink. The comforter of the bed on which I'm on is a bright red with whites and pinks with butterflies on it.

I know this room.

_It's my old room._

The one I had way before the O'Conner's took me in.

The one from when I actually _had_ my family.

The one that Papa and I decorated together. The doll that sits upon the bed, the one of Minnie, sits there with the bow that Papa had so messily sown back together when it had ripped. He had wanted to get me another but I insisted on keeping it. It was mine and I kept it regardless of what defects it had. Everything in this room was like that. The furniture, the clothes, the decorations. Everything here holds a tiny memory that I instantly recall when I see them.

All objects in this room have come to be like that doll. They had etched a memory in my mind more vividly than anything.

And the scent that comes in from the door that's slightly open makes my mind reel back to what's happening. Breakfast.

Could it really be…that everything— _every single thing—_ was just a big nightmare?

Clinging to that smidgen of hope, I climb over the bed and run through the familiar house turning a corner and running down the staircase to reach the kitchen. At the hall that leads to it, my nose catches the scent that just keeps getting stronger.

Once I get to the end of the hallway and am standing in front of the doorway that leads to the kitchen, my breath catches and my throat runs dry.

I'm literally at the verge of tears because of who I see standing in front of the stove cooking.

"Papa?"

At hearing me, he turns around and seeing his smile at seeing me is enough to make tears pour down my cheeks. It's been years and I must have forgotten how he looked. But the memories rushed in, almost like a dam had broken after seeing him. The same black wavy hair as mine, dark brown eyes that were almost black and so tall that I can't figure how I turned out so short. But he was there in his usual attire for work: a nice dress shirt, tie, and pants. And that smile that lighted up cities.

_I can't believe…I actually forgot how his smile looked like._

"Oh, _reinita_!" He chuckles and that quickly makes me smile too and wipe away the tears that began falling seconds before. "You're finally up. Feel like having pancakes?"

"You're really here?" That's all I can muster to say but he doesn't seem to find it weird.

"Yeah, _perdon._ You remember that last case I told you about? Well, the captain had the whole squad stay and work on it. Finally busted the ring though, so he let the main ones working on it off to rest for a while."

"Another bust?" this time my voice is more controlled and I'm a bit more calm but I'm still quite astonished that I'm here with him enjoying a nice conversation like we used to.

"Main ring, too. They were working mostly around schools and campuses so it'll be a lot safer around your school as well." He murmurs a 'thank you' to God before reaching up to the cupboard and taking a couple of plates to place the pancakes he just made.

Placing two on each, he dabs them with butter before taking two bottles out. He stripes both pancakes with syrup and passes me a cup of milk he'd already serve beforehand.

" _Ahi está, mi reina_ _._ Dig in."

And we do. Even after we finish we stay there and talk for what seems hours. It seems a little odd for him and he doesn't hesitate to tell me so but I can't help myself. If what had happened before was all a nightmare then it had been a long one.

I was only seven when it happened—remembering something horrible like that when he's here with me is only spoiling the moment. So I ignore the melancholy and enjoy his company.

It isn't until we hear someone at the front door that we stop our conversation in its tracks. No one but me and him live here and we aren't expecting anybody that he told me about. A serious look comes over Papa's face and knowing how protective he is, I know what he'll say.

"Stay here, okay?" I can only nod as he goes over to the front door that's around the corner from the kitchen. It is a few seconds before I hear him open the door but I can hear it hit the metal latch that keeps it from opening all the way. The noise that follows happens faster than I can register.

The door's kicked off and opens, forcefully hitting the wall that makes me jump. Without thinking, I get up and run to the front to see what's happening.

At turning the corner, I'm about to call out to him but something drowns my voice. The load gunshot leaves me deaf but what leaves me petrified is what the bullet hit.

Papa falls back like nothing and lies on the floor as a pool of red begins to form beneath his head…from the hole on it. The scream that I can't hold on to comes out and I throw myself down to grab him and try to wake him up.

My mind isn't working.

_Why isn't he waking up!?_

"Shitty, detective." The voices that I hear make my screaming stop long enough to look up. A couple of strong men stand at our doorstep holding guns—one having been just fired lets out the smoke from the barrel.

"W-Why?" The word comes out like a croak from the tears that are uncontrollably spilling from the agony. My hands feel cold and my legs numb but I can still feel the warm liquid that's staining both of them as Papa's head rests on my lap.

"Boss' orders: send a message. The police have to learn, sweet cheeks, you don't mess with dealers and their turf. And killing the lead detective sounded like a pretty damn clear message."

"Hey, boss said no witnesses."

"Ha," the man retorts with a keen grin on his face. "Sorry, miss. You're out of luck." My mind's too fuzzy to recognize the gun that's pointed straight between my eyes. By the time that I do, it's already too late. The sound travels faster than the pain but it's gone in a flash and everything goes black.

* * *

When I open my eyes, my breathing is heavy and I can't believe what just happened.

They shot Papa.

_They shot me._

My hands travel all over my body to look for the gunshot I heard and felt and finally land on my forehead but find no hole. Of course they wouldn't, I'm still alive. But then…what happened to Papa?

This urges me to stand up but when I give a step too far out and feel nothing there, that's when I start panicking for a whole other reason. Not having anything to step onto makes me slip and fall but before I can fall completely, I grab ahold of the beam. My arms and other leg wrap around with as much strength as I can muster and although my face hits the steel structure hard, I don't mind at all.

_I'll take a hit on the face with steel over spatting against the road like a bug any day._

That's because as I'm staring down while holding on for dear life all I see beneath me and this beam is a fifty foot fall to the cement street. Carefully, I raise my head and find that the beam is held by a building and at turning back there's another one too. And each are about thirty feet away from where I am in the middle.

I'm traipsing between two skyscrapers.

_Why do you hate me, God?_

But asking him is useless. I need to get to the buildings. I can't fall. My eyes wander by accident down again and I'm almost hyperventilating. Did the floor just get farther away?

_No, Reina! Don't panic! You've got to keep calm._

Fuck calm. I'm more than fifty feet in the fucking air and I can't stand up from here. But my brain's right. I've got to get to that other side and not—don't think about it.

Just. Get. Up.

Not daring myself to look down, I clumsily gather myself up onto my shaky feet. I'm like freaking Bambi right now because if I look down, I'll slip and die.

Oh wait, that was his mom.

And she didn't fall, she got shot.

_Same difference._

Stupid crude humor keeps me distracted so I keep thinking some other bad jokes while slowly side stepping my way towards the edge of the building. I'm doing well and get half way when I hear cawing nearby. My head turns about to find the source of the noise and find a murder of crows flying menacingly fast towards me. It doesn't even take them seconds to reach where I am. Here I was hoping that they would just fly past me but I'm proved wrong yet again.

The crows are aiming for me and hover over while pecking at me. Everywhere their little beaks touch hurts and no matter how much I sway my arms around, I can't seem to fend them off. Not wanting to fall from their distraction, I simply ignore them and run as carefully but as fast as I can towards the open window in the nearest skyscraper.

A mighty leap is what takes me into the other side of the window. When I enter, the room is dark and the floor that I land on is rough enough to scrape my legs when I jump in. But at least I'm safe from those crows.

The thought quickly escapes me though when the only light that's coming from the window behind me vanishes. My eyes are covered by nothing but darkness and panic starts to settle in.

_Remain calm._

If I can do that it'll be easier to think what I can do to escape. There's no light, so what? It's not like the beam and the crows pecking at me. There isn't any pending doom for to me hurry up and escape from so that's something.

My ears, being much more sensitive now that I'm blind to my surroundings, catch a distinct sound that I instantly recognize.

Water. It was dripping from somewhere. At first, it's just drops here and there but it suddenly starts becoming more and more constant. Finally when it gets louder is when I feel the droplets falling on my head. The instant I look up it's as if something ruptures the ceiling and lets the pouring storm wash in.

The cold water hits me hard and soaks me from head to toe. Instinctively, I jump away from the waterfall that just came out of nowhere but I can feel the water that's accumulating starting to soak my feet. And it's quickly raising.

Trying to keep alive is my first instinct so I start looking for any crevice around the room. But there's nothing; all I feel around me is hard rock that cuts my palms when I try to push it away.

_I'm inside a cavern._

No other thing explains this place. It's a closed environment, the surfaces are rough and rocky, and the whole place is pitch black. The water level's at my neck in seconds and I'm having a hard time touching the floor. The water starts to seep into my mouth as I desperately try to find somewhere to exit this place from.

But the more the closed cave fills with water, the more my panic starts to win over my calm. In a matter of minutes, I'm out of time to think. I'm swimming to keep myself as close to the surface that's quickly vanishing as I can. I'm raising my lips as much to the surface as possible; so much so that I can feel the rough ceiling of the cave on them.

Before it fills up to the brim, I take one last deep breath and sink in. The cave is dark so I have no other choice but to feel my way around. My mind instantly goes to the waterfall where the water had come from. _That's my exit._

But no matter how much my hands touch around at the ceiling, I feel nothing but rock. There's no hole.

_There's no exit._

The panic that I had held barely at bay bursts out in a scream that gets me nowhere. It only brings water into my lungs that hurts. I try to breathe to make it go away but there's no air. It just hurts me even more. With no air, my vision quickly blurs and before I know it all I feel is the coldness of the water both around and inside me.

Those last seconds are agonizing as the water enters my lungs but just as fast as it came, it's gone. What I feel underneath me now is a woodened floor not much different than the one from home. It's bleak in color but the oblique lighting in the room makes it ominous. My body feels heavy but I'm not wet. If anything I just feel this oppressiveness that's been lingering on me since I woke up fiercer than ever.

Looking up at the light source, I find that there's only a single lamp hanging from the nonexistent ceiling casting a halo of light upon the room. Before me is an old wooden table that stands some feet over my head.

Mustering the strength I have left in me to stand myself up, I languidly walk over to the table to see what lies on it. A variety of weapons, from blunt to guns, lay in a neat line across the table. Each is one that I've seen at least once in my life.

A couple of different sized knives and some handguns, pistols, and automatics to name a few. They all lay in a neat position next to a magazine of bullets for the guns and a cleaning cloth for the knives. My hand reaches out to one in particular, a seemingly normal Samurai Edge that has a dent mark on the side of the barrel.

"Mmm!"

The sudden muffled scream makes me turn around and hold my heart from jumping out of my chest. What I see behind me is something that wasn't there before when I first awoke here. There is an old wooden chair matching the table and someone bound to it with rope.

Because of how slim they are, I can at least make out that it's a girl. Her clothes are all tattered and torn at some places. The skin that shows is bruised, cut, or bleeding slightly. Nothing serious but nothing that someone would be comfortable with either. Her hands and feet are bound behind the chair and onto its legs by rope that has scraped through her skin and stained red from how tight it's been bound. What shocks me most is that atop her head is a brown burlap sack.

Her mouth must be gagged because all I hear are muffled noises from her. She squirms but quickly desists when her wrists and ankles start bleeding again. My mind wants to go and help but my feet won't move. It's then that my mind rationalizes what's keeping me stuck in place.

_Helping her won't help you._

That sick thought passes through me and it almost makes me wretch. This mentality is the kind that I lived with for three years and at such a young age, too. My instincts for those three miserable years were to survive. Nothing and no one else mattered so long as I had shelter, food, and a sense of belonging.

_And because of those past deeds—those feelings that I was forced to embrace—I'm labeled._

"Then rid yourself of them, Reina."

The voice is too real to mistake it. When I try to turn around to see him, he stops me and wraps his arms over me. All through my back I can feel the warmth that travels from him to me and his arms that wraps themselves so lovingly around me.

"You want us to be able to be together, don't you?"

"Of course…I do." My answer is automatic albeit hesitant. He's always used that excuse.

"Then do it." His hand goes over mine and makes me grab ahold of the Samurai Edge. He turns us both around to face the girl that sits on the chair oblivious to what we're doing. "Destroy the _thing_ that stands in our way and we'll finally be able to be together. You'll do this for us, right? You…love me enough to do this?" His huge hands cover mine over the gun and hold it straight, aiming at the girl on the chair.

The instant he pulls the hammer back and I hear a click, panic begins to rise and my eyes widen.

My hands begin to tremble and I can't form any words. His hands over mine calm the shaking but not much of the panic. What he wants to do is impossible for me.

"I—."

"Won't you end her to ensure us?" He scoffs and I feel his reassuring hold on me lessening on my hands. "Does our love really mean so little to you?"

"No!" The intensity of my shout makes me regain some sense of composure; it's certainly enough to turn me around and finally face him. "Of course, it's not. Your love means the world to me, Jaden!" And just as I've imagined, he's standing there several inches taller and with a grimace upon his face. His tousled golden hair is just as I remember but the disappointment in his honey eyes kills me on the inside.

Our love— _such shortcoming_ —was always something that we hid from others. Something that no one could ever find out about. It was like a snow ball that started forming when they adopted me when I was ten. It was something that started out as a small ball of respect which then careened down a steep hill that only added more emotions to it as it went.

Respect. Appreciation. Adoration. Fondness. Affection.

By the time I was fifteen, it had grown into a full blown infatuation. And because I was—still am—such an outspoken girl, I told him without regarding the consequences of my actions. But my worry had been all for naught; he felt the same. We grew into a full relationship the summer of my sixteen birthday.

It was during the beginning that we agreed to leave all of it a secret. We decided to hide it from the family: from our parents, from our brothers, and from our friends. Eventually it became second nature to hide my feelings for him out in public. All that was ever exchanged were glances, touches here or there, and secret innuendoes to keep control.

But for me that were never enough.

A year after it started was when we grew intimately closer. It was on my seventeen birthday that he gave me gift I would remember forever. That night was when our parents had gone out and Kat had slept over with a friend.

That night was one that we two stayed alone at the house. It was the night that he took everything from me. He took my first of everything: my kiss, my body, and my heart.

I was and still am under the spell that captivated me the day we met. Even though my mind tells me it's impossible for him to be here, my heart cries overjoyed that I have him here with me.

At hearing my retort, the smile returns to his face that simply lights him up. Inadvertently this brings one to my lips too, until I hear what he says.

"Then kill her."

My eyes widen in horror as his hand reaches around to hold my hand up again towards the girl. She squirms having heard the whole conversation and struggles like hell but her constraints are too much for her to break free from.

"She's all that stands between us, Reina. The one person that keeps me from giving everything to you. The one that denies you your happiness. Rid yourself of her and everything you ever wanted will be yours."

But I can't.

Even if it's Jaden who's quite literally begging me to do this, I can't pull the trigger that we're both holding.

_I'm not a killer._

I never was when there was a necessity to be and I most certainly will not be when there's no need for it.

"I'm sorry, Jade… I can't do this."

The reaction is almost instantaneous. He clicks his tongue and grips my hand on the gun even tighter. He won't let me let go of the gun. "I was right from the beginning. We all were." Being much stronger than I am and considering how shocked I still am, he takes the advantage and forces me to point the gun right underneath my chin and aim it up towards my head.

My whole body freeze without me knowing and I can only breathe heavily as his fingers tighten against the trigger.

"No matter how much of a monster you are, you're still weak."

All I hear, is the blasting sound of the gun as it goes off…then nothing.

* * *

_Finally, home at last._

This one mission that the Earl had sent him to had been quite a hassle. Nothing that a good kill didn't unwind for good. Digressions aside, he had done what he was told and it had been in record time. He could rest some tonight and go back to the guys' tomorrow morning.

No more than a week had gone by so they should still be in the same town he left them at. With the Ark in his hands, he wouldn't have a problem traveling there. For now some rest was needed to recharge from such lackluster events.

That well-needed trip to dreamland, though, would have to wait because of what he hears at barely opening the door to his room. The first thing that he hears when he enters the living room is his niece's giggling.

It's creepy and somewhat overwhelming—not to mention slightly unwelcomed…yet it's still strangely comforting.

It doesn't take away the fact that he's questioning why she would be in his quarters but it's not like he can complain. If he even bothers to call it to her attention, she'll just brush it off with some absurdity.

Sighing at what prospects he's to come about to, he enters the room to find said girl lying on the carpeted floor on her stomach. Her legs are swinging back and forth and her elbows holding her up from the floor.

"Ah, welcome home, Tyki!" It seems she knew it was him without even looking because she simply sits up and sits on her legs while shaking whatever she had in her hands.

"Hey, Road." His answer is quite dull but it's something she's used to after he comes back from his tasks. "Your room full of toys again?"

"Nope!" she calls and shakes what seems to be a box in her hands once more. "I just thought it'd be fun to play here is all."

Play?

_Knowing her, it's gotta be grim._

"You can play anywhere in this place, can't you?" It is a big enough place, anyway. "I need some rest."

"You don't want to know what I'm playing with?" The tone of her voice catches his attention enough to stop undressing from the fancy suit and look over at the girl that sits on the floor.

Her eyes are big and plead for him to ask her—if not out of curiosity then to humor her needs. Regardless of how ridiculous they could sometimes be.

They're family after all.

So, he gives up and gives a sigh and a wry smile before asking. "What're you playing with this time?"

And like he was expecting out of her, she burst into an uncontrollable fit of cynical giggles and enjoyment. Not like he wasn't guilty of such tendencies himself some days. "Oh, Tyki, you won't believe it!" She grabs the box in her hands again and shakes it some more. "Some human wandered into the Ark!"

"What?"

_A human?_

"Yep!" Road giddily leaps from her sit and start jumping up and down in place out of excitement. "And although the Earl didn't let me keep it, he let me play around with her!"

"So what's in the box—"

"Exactly!" Road replies with a grin from ear and ear before she brings the box closer to her eyes and watches what's happening inside of it. "I've been toying with her mind, breaking her memories apart and picking out her fears. She's got quite a few good ones to boot, too!" She lets out a cackle and shakes the box again. But at seeing nothing apparently happening, she pouts childishly. "But her heart won't break. It's been hours now but she won't budge."

Tyki sighs at her absurdity and simply sits down on his chair in front of the fireplace to relax. Or at least get as much rest while having Road in his room toying with whatever human got caught in her hands as possible.

"How did a human even get into the Ark?" he asks while languidly picking at the nearest bookcase without really caring what he picks to read.

"Don't know. But since she'll die eventually, I'm not interested~"

_The Earl surely wouldn't care if she doesn't._

But he couldn't avoid the curiosity that lingers on him every time something out of the norm happened. Well as out of the norm as their family could get that is.

And since Road would stay so long as that toy she had stayed alive, it's in his best interest to let it finish early so he can get some sleep. "Who do you have there, anyway?"

"Curious?" she giggles and comes over to the chair where he's sitting on before holding the box up to his face. "Look! She's pretty too. Can't wait to rip that face off her~"

His gaze was tired to look but he did so anyway. At catching the sight of the _toy_ that Road was playing with his eyes widened.

_What…?_

Without meaning to, he takes the box from her hands. Not expecting the sudden movement, Road tumbles over her head and hits her face on the floor. Tyki hears her whining and crying but he can't believe what he's seeing.

_Reina?_

_But…that's impossible?_

"When did you catch this?"

"A few hours ago, why?" Road inquires while sitting on the armrest of the chair and watching the box from Tyki's hands.

_And the Earl condoned this._

If he had then there was nothing he could do to stop Road's torture. He was already beyond being surprised and shocked that Reina had stumbled upon the Ark. There was no way for her—a human—to travel into this space.

Not without inside help at least.

And on that matter once they find out she's one of his human friends they will put the fault on him. And that was a can that he didn't want to open any time soon. Saving himself the trouble of such problems is more than enough to raise him from his chair with one goal in mind.

_There goes my lazy afternoon._

"Where're you going, Tyki?" There isn't any shock or confusion in Road's voice as she watches Tyki rise from his chair and give her the box back.

"To talk to the Earl." That's all the answer he gives her before he storms out of the room with his destination not far.

"Mmm~"

Road was having fun playing around with this human and Tyki.

While searching through her memories for fears to haunt her with, she found her earliest memories which contained her favorite uncle. As she had guessed, they were friends from his human side. And seeing him react to finding out she was toying with the girl was just priceless.

But she hadn't been kidding about how she was getting annoyed at how resilient the little girl is. Out of the life she had lived, Road had found four insurmountable fears that could easily break any normal human by themselves. But she had bombarded her with all of them consecutively and she hadn't budged.

Her little play had started the fore night before and the girl had suffered through cycles of her fears over that span of time. And although Road could tell she was getting overwhelmed there was still something that kept her going. Something that held her straight when she's about to break.

"You're an interesting, little human~" Road coos at the box that she holds at eye level. "But you're a nuisance that I'm starting to hate more by the second." Out of nowhere the veins around her eyes strain while she keeps contact with the box. "I'll have to hurry and break you before Tyki can get you out."

* * *

How many times has it been already?

I stopped taking count after the scenes started blurring into one another. It's was like a terrible nightmare that I can't wake up from.

Those four scenarios keep coming and I can't run away from them.

Dad's death. The falling. The drowning. Jaden's request.

Every time I refuse the last, I'm killed to wake up in my room again and the cycle continues. It's like I'm lucid dreaming but it doesn't matter whether I know if I'm dreaming or not. Regardless of my conscious mind, the scenes continue.

No matter how much I tell myself they're not real, they still happen.

 _I can't take much more of this_.

I've never been up to killing but right now I was willing to make one last exception for myself. That seems like the best escape route from this horrid nightmare. I can't do that without something to help me with though.

The only place with weapons is that last room. With Jaden. If I can get there, I'll be able to end this. Anything is better than seeing these scenes forever.

But to get there, I need to go through this house.

I have to see Papa die…again.

 _But_ —I sit there on my bed, curled up in my misery— _I don't want to see him die again._

_I don't want to see it happen._

_**See it…** _ _happen_ _**?** _

A sudden realization hits me at those simple words.

Dad died years ago when I was seven… **but I never saw him die.**

Papa died out in the field during that last drug bust. His partner, Uncle Jesse, took me to the squad room where everybody was mourning him. I had no idea what had occurred. Uncle Donnie, his captain, was the one that took care of me for a few days until ACS took me away.

_That was what really happened._

What I saw—what I keep seeing—isn't a memory. It's manufactured. It's…fake.

_It's not real._

And if that isn't real then none of the others are real either. My fears of heights and of drowning…they're from my initiation. But I was never put in that kind of explicit danger in my life, ever. And Jaden's request…

_None of this is real._

To proof this there's only one thing that I can think of. With determination boiling through my blood, I saunter out of my room and ignore the scents that have become dull to my senses. I don't even bother to reach the kitchen anymore and instead head straight for the door.

The sudden knocks have stopped startling me and I open the door to let the ruffians in. They snarl and grimace at me while pointing their guns.

"Reina!"

It's his voice but it doesn't affect me now that I've realized what's going on. "Sorry, old man, but you're already dead," I tell him without even a glance back. One of the ruffians before me points his gun toward him and shoots. The loud pop doesn't scare me any longer as I sink into a calmness that I can't believe I've found.

From behind me, I hear the loud thud from his body falling. It's funny to think that once the shock washes off it's easy to ignore things you've seen a million times.

It's three years since the day I was taken away and got lost in the cracks of the system. Those three years where I had to change to survive. I'm sinking back into tendencies that I had renounced the day I met Jaden and got adopted by the O'Conner's. After I was saved, there was no need for them anymore.

Here…I need to hold on to them for a bit longer.

The guns point back at my head but I feel no fear. A grin comes to my lips and my fingers simply push the tip away from my face. "It's rude to point that thing around, gentlemen. Now, if you'll excuse me."

And with that I walk out of the house without any harm to my body or mind. At exiting, the first thing I feel is the air brushing past me. I'm back at the beam fifty feet above the ground.

There isn't any more hesitation after having seen this so many times but there is still some fear. Phobias won't vanish out of thin air but I can fight them with this determination.

_And even if I die, this isn't real._

Taking that for what it is worth, I run full speed towards the nearest building taking advantage that the crows had yet to show their ugly beaks. But at reaching the window that was usually open and only finding it closed shut, I back track.

_That's new._

The distant cawing tells me that they're on their way and coming fast. There's nothing more to do but to run over to the other side and check but as I feared it's covered up too.

Now what? When I come walking over the beam, the crows are already there on me trying to peck me to death. My hands sway back and forth over my head trying to buzz them away but their incessant with their attack. And I'm out of options here.

There's no other way out.

_Yes, there is._

And just as my mind thinks that my eyes wander down towards the floor.

_None of it is real._

That sole reminder gives me the courage to take a deep breath and jump down from the beam. Instinctively, my eyes close on the way down as the wind swiftly passes through me. It feels like I've fallen more than fifty feet before my body splashes into a body of water and goes in deep.

The water's murky, dark, and I can't touch the bottom; this makes me swim up to the top in a hurry. Once at the surface I take a much needed breathe before I glance around. The rushing of water and the rough surfaces—this is the cave.

But its way past half full already.

_Not wasting any time here, huh._

Not wanting to waste any myself, I kick around the walls to find any lose boulders as the water continues to rise. The seconds pass and I can't find any but the water has already reached the surface.

_If there's nothing on the surface then maybe there's below._

My lips open to take one last deep breath before the surface disappears and I'm underneath murky waters. It's stings to open my eyes but I do so anyway and see nothing but darkness. That's at first until my eyes catch the glimmer of something.

Light.

I swim over to it and find the tiny hole from where the light's coming from and try to dig my way through. But it's hard when I'm running out of air.

_You won't._

That's right.

"I won't." My voice comes out crisp and clean even when I'm swallowing the water around me. I let myself sink down to the bottom where I can see the hole of light better. I've forced it too much but it won't budge so maybe if I simply touch it.

My fingers brush over the rock and I watch as cracks start forming where my fingers linger. Smiling, I give a slight tap to the wall that makes it shatter at contact. The water rushes out and forcefully brings me out with it.

The floor that I land on is wooden and recognizable as the one that I've seen. This is the gun room. When I get up my body isn't soaked anymore but instead there's a heat radiating from it.

Up ahead is the table with the artillery and a few feet beyond that is the girl bound to the chair with Jaden behind her grabbing the back of the chair with an anticipating grin.

"Finally back, I see," he says with the grin that won't go away and seems a bit familiar but not for him. It's a smirk that I find very discomforting. Regardless of how I'm feeling right now, I walk over to stand before the hooded girl while Jaden takes a few steps back and to the side to watch me.

But instead of answering anymore of his comments, I reach out my hand and grab the sack that's over the girl's head and rip it off from her. It's a bit startling what I see but it's something I expected.

The girl that's bound in the chair and gagged…is me when I was ten.

A girl with eyes sunken and pale skin, black hair matted and green eyes dull from a world she has seen. A girl that was forced to grow up well before her time and that for three years was trained to steal, lie, hurt others, and follow orders to survive.

Until the one day that she refused to follow a very simple one.

_I'm not a killer._

I take off the gag on her and the moment I do, she gives that dark, wicked grin that I recognize too well on that young seemingly innocent face.

_But she is._

She's the part of me—however small or big—that birthed from those years of solitude and survival. The part that left behind any emotion of love and compassion and only sought out for herself.

A spider. And a part of me that I know still lives in me. I've seen how cruel and unjust the world can be and I learned to adapt accordingly. Even after I was taken away from such world, I had already become too jaded to correct. The first years were hard for me to adapt back and even then I still have troubles fitting in with society.

They turned a little, innocent girl into a beast—a monster of their creation.

One that even after knowing what I have been through, they saw fit to label in accordance to the actions I had to take to survive that childhood. Not from the years after where I tried to get better.

" _Clinically speaking, she's borderline sociopathic."_

" _Can she be cured?"_

" _It will take time and much therapy along with help from your family, but it can be dealt with. However, I will strongly advise for you to keep her away from your other children. She has lived isolated from other people's care for several years now and exposed to too much violence at a young age. Her sense of connection with others has been damaged because of it so she might not see the lives of others as any importance."_

" _And if she receives the help she needs, she can regain it, right?"_

" _Only time will tell."_

But even after ten years of therapy and bonding, they never thought I was cured. Regardless of how much better I got. True, I would never be the same girl from before but Jaden and Kat's love changed me and gave me back emotions I thought I had lost. And though I saw them smiling and loving me, I knew there was always something wrong.

_They always feared me._

"Exactly." As if having read my mind, Jaden comes over and stands by my side. He reaches for my hand and entwines his fingers with mine. "Despite how much they seemed to love you, they have always been scared of what you could do. The things that the police told them you were involved in and the harm you have caused to other people. They always feared that they too would be targeted by the little monster they were trying to save."

His fingers let go of my own and in their place I feel steel. The gun that he's put in my hands feels cold and foreign but I grab it between my fingers nonetheless.

"That's the reason you've never truly been a part of the family. You're too foreign, too different from us to ever be part of us. That's why they never met your eyes—none of them did. They were too scared to see who they knew lingered behind that smile."

"That's…not true." My voice choked on itself and my chest got a little tighter.

"Is it not? I mean none of us ever looked you in the eye with anything more than caution. With a smile but always guarded."

But no matter how much I'm trying to deny it, he's right. No one had ever dared look me in the eye for long after those years.

Not Dad.

Not Mom.

Not Sebastian or Gerard.

Not even Jaden when we were alone. He'd always avert his gaze too.

"Everybody feared you and one ever cared."

_That's not true._

There's one person who despite knowing never wavered at my sight.

" _Big sis Reina!"_

Kat was always the little angel that could only see the good in me. The one who accepted me despite who I was and what I had done in the past.

" _Rei-nee."_

And she wasn't the only one. Eeze, Momo, Clark, and even Tyki don't fear me. They might not know everything but they've seen how I am if even a little and yet they don't look away. In fact, they seem to embrace it and understand. We've lived similar lives and that just makes us closer to each other.

They don't fear me.

They respect me. They trust me.

I am dear to them as they all are to me. And it's them along with the scars that my past has given me that carry me onward to the future.

_Scars are reminders…just like Sebastian said._

The oldest of us and by far wisest he might have feared me but he also held much respect in my eyes. The one that understood why I did the things I did and despite fearing me for knowing the things he did at my age there was also solace for me in his eyes.

" _Seb, do Mom and Dad hate me?"_

" _Why would you say that?"_

" _I feel like…they treat me differently."_

" _They're trying their best, Reina, to adjust to this just like you are. As all of us are."_

" _Are_ you _scared of me?"_

" _I won't lie to you. You've seen stuff that only I recently saw during my first tour. Worse yet you acted upon your instinct to survive. And you did as did I. But things like these change you whether you do them by choice or chance. And every time they take away a piece of you while changing you at the same time. War is war, whether it's internal or external makes no difference. I'm fighting in mine just like you're still struggling in yours."_

" _Do those pieces we lose comeback?"_

" _Only as scars that serve as reminders, Reina. Reminders for us to never look back, to learn from experience, and to keep walking forth."_

And those scars along with the love from those who mattered truly to me were enough. I didn't need anybody to tell me that I'm okay because I might never fully recover from that. But those who I matter to will never fail to see me in the eye and truly see me as I am.

And as I know I am as well.

"You're right. I've always known and I've felt the same fear of myself. Of this part of me—this indifference to life—" My hand reaches out to pat the head of the little girl. At doing this, she loses the grin and seems utterly confused from the unexpected affection. And that reaction didn't surprise me.

_She's me, after all._

"Taking over. That if it ever did, I would l lose any sense of compassion and kill you all and slit my throat for good measure after." My hand lowers up to her cheek and caress it lovingly. "But it would be meaningless to be scared of something that's a part of me now. Life may have taken me where I never would have intended to go, but I think it got me to where I need to be. It was given to me and whether it's a curse or gift, I don't care. I'll accept it as part of myself and my life—pain and all—and keep moving forward."

There's a slight hesitance from Jaden's part that makes me turn towards him. "You know they won't ever accept you and yet you choose to continue on?" His voice was changing and starts to sound more high-pitched. "Even when they consider you evil and a monster, you would still go against it all for them? Forsake the justice that's to be given for those who've suffered—a justice you deserve—to save them?"

"Justice and evil aren't the words I would use to describe my reasons. Those are words that I hate very much."

This seems to surprise him but it only makes me smile.

This is one of the few things that I actually remember Papa always telling me.

" _Papa, you catch bad guys, right?"_

" _As defined by the law, yes."_

" _So that means you're the good guys, right?"_

" _To say we're 'good' and they're 'bad' is putting it too black and white,_ reinita. _The world isn't that simple and the people who live in it much less."_

" _Then how do you know that you're doing the right thing then?"_

" _Most of the times, I don't. I follow the rules of the world but those rules are made to define who's good and bad. But people aren't like that. People aren't just black and white, because no matter where you look, you'll always find the vast majority of gray."_

"Regardless of the reason, when it's people who're involved the situation is seldom black and white. Most of the time there's never a fine line that defines who is good and bad or who's just and evil. Where humans are involved, there is only our will. And to give my all for those who love me as I am and are willing to do the same is my reason; that's my will and I will never let hatred consume it to kill another."

Giving that as my answer to his question, I raise the gun and shoot up towards the lamp hanging on the ceiling. The light bursts but instead of leaving us in darkness it shines a light brighter than any that begins to vanish everything from its sight. The table and the chair along with the ten-year-old me are gone before my eyes.

Jaden's the last that stays.

"Oh and by the way—" I call out with a smile as the gun vanishes from my hand. "You did a good job at impersonating Jade. I almost believed you!" A chuckle escapes me but my eyes speak volumes of how I feel betrayed at knowing he was never really there despite his words ringing too true in my ears of thoughts he won't speak but I know he has. "But you bunched Kathleen in with all of them. She won't ever look at me with fear; she's too much like I used to be. Too kind and trusting. And her kindness and trust is something I will never doubt. She's the first who saw me for who I am. Nothing more than a lost little girl who wanted someone by her side."

The room itself starts to shatter then and Jaden smirks one last time before he starts to vanish too. But only his skin. What's left behind is Road with an all-knowing smirk on her face. There's an underlying frustration that I can't help but notice but it's all hidden almost too well underneath that smirk.

"You're an entertaining toy despite your flaws. Keeping you around might turn to be more fun that I first thought." The floor beneath then starts shattering too and soon I feel nothing beneath me. Before the darkness swallows me again, I hear her last words.

"See you on the other side, Reina~"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a long enough chapter. Although this didn't move the plot much forth, it did explain some things about Reina's past. It's basically broken into three phases.
> 
> Birth-7: her life with her biological dad.
> 
> 7-10: 'miserable years' as she describes them. These will be explained later but I'll just say that they're the reason why she's so well trained in combat and whatnot. Also her butterfly knife cx
> 
> 10-20: her life with the O'Conners! :D
> 
> Translations:  
> -reinita: little queen  
> -perdón: sorry  
> -ahi esta, mi reina: there it is, my queen


	10. Chapter 10

_**Ten** _

**Disjunction**

* * *

The moment that I wake up it's like I just ran the marathon of my life. My whole body is covered in sweat and it feels heavier than I've ever felt it. My head's cracking open with a headache that I decide to ignore.

Figuring out my unfamiliar surroundings comes as a more important issue.

And by the looks of them they couldn't be more unfamiliar. The bed I'm on is canopied and has red silk sheets that cover me. The curtains that drape over the canopy are the same color with dashes of gold and black. Some neat dark oak furniture sits around. But that's just what I can see from turning my head to the side.

I feel too weak to get up. Whatever nightmare I woke up from, it sapped all the energy from me.

Even sleeping in this stranger's bed seems like a good idea from how tired I am. But that thought soon ends when whispered words slip to my ears. Because of how mush my brain is and how far and quiet the voices seem to be, I can't decipher much but I can tell out a name.

My name.

_Whoever they are, they're talking about me._

This alone seems to give me enough strength of will to sit myself up and part the curtains that block my view from the rest of the room. It's dark; all the gas lamps I see around the room aren't lit so it leaves the room in an eerie darkness. A door hangs to the left of the room and another right in front.

It's from that second door that the voices are coming.

The moment I realize where they're coming from is when that little fighting fire in me bursts alive again. I want to know who they are and what they're talking about. And more importantly, why it involves me.

_You need to get up for that to happen, Reina._

Yes, brain, I am aware of that. But my body is exhausted beyond belief. Yet the sheer amount of will that manifests from my curiosity is enough to push me off the bed and stand up. I have to grab quickly onto the dresser right across from me for balance. I'm like a newborn fawn that was getting acquainted with its legs.

It takes me a few seconds before I can fully regain control of my spaghetti limbs but I still grab onto the wall as I go towards the door. Once there I gently come over the door to listen closer to the conversation that was happening on the other side.

"A vermin like it?"

"Yes, it amazed me as well."

The instant I hear that voice, memories from what I had experienced before come to me. The crazed people that brought me to that old fatso after I entered the weird city. And I put heavy emphasize on the " _weird"_ part because nothing about this is normal.

But if I start freaking out now it will only hinder me. So keeping my calm as much as I can is the best thing I can do right now. At least I'm trying to while overhearing this conversation that's getting creepier by the second.

The ones who spoke just now were the aforementioned fatso and the Kat copy-cat. Earl and Road I think their names were. But right now who they are is less important than what they are speaking about.

"I was playing around at first," the Road chick says with a tangy tone to her voice. "The moment I got bored, I bombarded her with the fears that plagued her heart. But even after hours she refused to keel over. It really got me annoyed."

"Is this when it broke out?"

"Yeah, she broke my box~!" This time she's whining at the old fat man. Are they talking about what happened to me? Those…nightmares?

_So the one that put me in that limbo was her. Good to know who I'll be shanking later._

"She got away mentally unscathed, although the same can't be said about that little body of hers." She giggles at the insult towards my height but I let it slip. Not like I can do much as I am now. Whatever it was that she did really crippled me physically. She pouts and makes an annoyed sound, "If you hadn't gotten in the way I'd have killed her too."

"Now, now, we won't be fighting over petty things like a stray, children," the fat man tells her. "I've got to agree with Road here, though. A human that can decipher and break her Dreams is mighty interesting yet disturbing. If such a pest does exist, it'll be best to eradicate it."

_Eradicate?_

Not good. Not good at all.

_I have to get out of here and fast._

My bare feet help me step back as slowly and quietly as I need to, and the adrenaline and fear that's rushing through my blood helps me overcome the overexertion enough to start my escape. I'm a few feet away from the door when I suddenly hear a voice that's _too_ familiar.

"Perhaps so but wouldn't a strong-willed human like that be beneficial in its own way?"

That voice—

_Tyki?_

There's no mistaking it. That's him—there is no other person I know whose voice sounds so deep and lilting. But that first impression was left when I met him. His voice now is the same yet so much more different.

It's huskier yet silvery. The one thing that changed though and sends chills running down my spine is that it just got more honeyed. His speech more proper.

This might be Tyki but he isn't the Tyki I'm used to. He's a whole other person now.

"A pest is a pest, Tyki-pyon, regardless of its genius. That fact alone should be sufficient to encourage its destruction," the Earl says in response to his retort. He's adamant on killing me, that's for sure.

"I agree with Tyki." The moment Road says those words something in me is shocked she even said a word that favored my survival. Especially since she clearly stated before that I _annoyed_ her. But her agreement isn't the only argument she has apparently. "But if you think it can't be used how about a little deal, Millennium Earl?"

"Deal?"

"Yeah, let's exploit this little mind and see how it functions; let's keep the human. Surely, like Tyki said, it'd interesting to see how a mind like hers benefits us." There's a slight pause that brings a terrible notion over me. "And if she turns out to just be trash like you say then let him dispose of her personally~!"

There is a few seconds of silence before the Earl speaks again. "Use it as you see fit then. If it won't interfere with your work then I see no harm in you having your fun with the stray pooch."

Use me? And if not, dispose…?

" _A pretty penny like you should serve a fine purpose for me."_

Now this was starting to sound very similar to another situation I've lived before. And I have no urgency on returning to being anybody's lap dog.

_I really need to get out of here._

"All right~" Road's gleeful cry rings out even after I've taken a few steps back from the door. "I have a new toy! Doesn't that sound fantastic, _Reina_?"

What?! Did she just—

"Don't run, Reina. It's annoying."

This time I hear her voice much too close. Turning behind me, I see that instead of being through the other door they're now right before me. I back out heading for the door they _should've_ exited from but at backing up to it I feel no doorknob. My eyes wonder over my shoulder to find a wall.

No door.

_What's happening in this place?_

My head spins back around to find the two members of this circus that stand before me now. Road has that freakish little smirk on her features; her attire matches her eeriness with the dark purples and blacks contrasting with the whites of her shirt and ruffles. Although quite somber, her attire is quite refined.

As for Tyki—God, despite how much fear that last conversation struck in me, I still can't help but be stunned by what I see now. Gone is the dirty hobo with the golden smile and goofy glasses. The man that stands before me is well-groomed with his curly hair slicked back and dressed in a fine dress suit.

It doesn't help either that I've always been a sucker for men who look fine in suits or uniforms and _damn._ It just blends so well with him.

_They're freaks trying to use and kill you, Reina. Especially that brat._

Sorry brain but this is one hot piece of—

…

Freaks.

My eyes wonder over to Road once more and notice what I've failed to realize before. Her skin—it's a nice pale color. Not ashen. And her eyes are dark voids. Not golden.

_What the hell?_

This lapse of stupidity and confusion gives them enough time to catch me off guard. At least Tyki takes the chance and grabs me by the waist before hoisting me up and over his shoulder like a potato sack and starts walking out of the room with Road close behind. This feels like déjà vu from how many times he's done it before.

This seemingly similar action brings me back to my senses enough to start fighting back. I start kicking first but he quickly grabs ahold of my legs with one arm and holds them in place. The next best thing I can come up with is to punch him on the back but nothing urges him to let go. So I start screaming profanities in his ear.

Road's giggling gets me to stop for a few seconds. "You're quite the feisty one. Isn't she, Tyki?"

"You've no idea," is the only mumbled answer he gives. It's quiet enough that I believe she didn't hear it but I did. I'm not violent. At least not by choice.

"Where are you taking me?" I hiss and try scratching him but to no avail. He keeps moving too much for me to get any good hit on him.

"Somewhere we can talk and you can't run away."

There's no time for me to complain about that last part before he opens a door and we get in another room. This one is a bit different than the one where I woke up at. It isn't a bedroom but instead something akin to an inside playground.

The floor's colorful and the walls are covered in clouds over a blue sky. Toys litter the room. Simple toys that a toddler would most likely play with along with a small slide and even a sandbox. This place is just like a nursery.

Before I can point anything out about the room, Tyki sets me down on one of the plastic chairs that's placed around the room. And before I can even attempt to get up the two block my way. Tyki has the need to take a knee while Road squats down from how low the little chair is.

_This is mighty uncomfortable._

"My room was just as close, Road," Tyki breaks the silence with an irritated sigh while pulling out a cigarette of his own to light it.

"I like my playground though," Road interjects with a visible pout that goes away when she turns to face me. "So, you're the stray that Tyki picked up. What's your name, pooch?"

_Pooch?_

"Why ask?" I immediately say with a glare of my own. "You called it back there. You know my name."

"Good, you don't act stupid. It's good to know, Reina Teresa Amaro."

_Goddamn, no one's ever called me by my full name. Not since Papa passed, anyways._

And I hate hearing it too. Not just my name but my mother's too.

"I heard everything you talked about. So might as well get it over with and kill me because I'm not going to become anybody's bitch."

There is no use in being eloquent about this. If they want to kill me, fine, but I won't let them reign over me.

"Really? That's your answer," Road asks with a chuckle. "We're letting you leave for a measly prove of usefulness and you're letting it go like that?"

"Reina, listen—"

This time my eyes went over to Tyki who has the nerve to still talk to me after siding with them. Sure, he hadn't said anything since he brought into this room but he isn't speaking much now either.

"You should take the deal."

"To hell with you all," I spit out and bare my teeth like an animal. Wow, I'm turning back to old habits.

Tyki sighs and lowers his head before taking a deep breath of his lit cigarette. He lets out the smoke before he holds it between his fingers and rests his head on his palm. He seems pretty accustomed to this and, frankly, quite annoyed at me. It's like when I kept bugging him about this job of his that he'd do in secret.

Now, I just wished I hadn't chased after him.

"Look, lil' queen," he says with a final sigh of annoyance. "You either try to live another day or don't and be killed. If the latter happens you won't ever see Eeze or that sister of yours again."

_Kathleen. Eeze._

Damn, not this again. The guilt card. This time though one could say he's vindicated to use it. I can't just give up and keel over now. There can still be a way back to my family.

_Which one?_

The stupid thought my brain concocts isn't helping but I quickly shake it off. "I'll escape. You think you've seen what I can do but that's not even the beginning. I'll get out of here; I don't need your sanctuary."

"True, with your expertise it'd be easy for you to force your way out without any trouble," Road comments with a smirk of her own. "That is if we were just _any_ kind of people."

That does not sound promising.

_Don't ask why._

But my mouth was quicker than my brain. "What do you mean?"

"It's not good enough to explain." Road's smirk reappears and sends chills down my spine again. She stands up and leans against Tyki's shoulder before knocking heads with him lightly. "Shall we show her?"

Tyki averts his gaze from me when I try to meet his eyes. He simply gives a grunt as a seeming response. I sit there unaware of what they're thinking but dreading to know.

_What are they talking—_

My breath hitches at what I'm seeing. It's like some kind of magic show. It has to be. If not there is no logical explanation to what I'm seeing right now.

Their skin…is changing color.

It's like something is surging through their bodies and the fair or pale skin tone that they had is being tainted in gray; it's _ashen._

And not only their skins. Their eyes too. Road's change back into that amber hue practically gold that simply terrified me the first time I saw her.

Tyki's change as well but his give me a whole other feeling. What used to be dark brown orbs are now pools of liquid gold. His gaze lingers a moment too long on my own and simply catch me all together. I've never seen eyes more mesmerizing than those.

My eyes wonder quickly enough to break from the spell those eyes cast and glance over to his brow where very peculiar marks have appeared; small black crosses decorate their brow in a crown all around their foreheads. Both Tyki and Road have the same scars on them.

Like a mark; a sign of sorts.

And for some reason it terrifies me.

"W-What are you?" The words came out before I can even think about them.

"Something out of your nightmares," Road answers with much more glee than I like to admit. She scoffs before saying, "And since I've seen you in your fears, it's quite accurate."

"Now decide—" It's Tyki this time who calls out to me with a smirk of his own, one that reflects the same malice as Road's. "Are you in or out?"

_Pressure much?_

It's hard to say this but they're right. If they were just some odd old punks, I could've easily snuck out once night came. But this proves beyond a doubt that they're not normal, if being trapped in that never-ending dream of Road's didn't already prove as much.

Dealing with them the way I dealt with thugs back home or even here isn't going to cut it. I've got to think my situation over again and look for a better solution. But right now isn't the time for that—there's actually no time to think at all with them wanting an answer right now.

_Die or join._

"F-Fine." It is all I can say without spitting any curses out at them. Taking things lying down has never been my thing. But for the sake of my survival I'll have to go back to _those_ days. "Tell me, then, what's this about 'proving' myself?"

"We'll explain." This time it's Road who speaks as both stand up from their place. "But that'll have to wait till we get home."

"What?" My question is ignored as a whole when they start heading towards the door. "What do you mean by that?"

"We're taking you to your new home, pooch," Road says with a smirk and grabs something from thin air. Like a magician's trick, she pulls a big black cloak from nowhere. She tosses it my way and I instinctively catch it. "Wear it. Don't want to be seen with filth."

That one comment riles me up and I unconsciously take a step forth to charge at her but Tyki places a hand out between us seconds before and stops me. "It's getting late and I'm starving. Let's go." Without another word, he grabs me by the wrist and drags me through the door we entered.

This time it doesn't lead to the white city but instead to another place. The place we're at now is a simple shop. When I turn to Tyki and Road, it surprises me how their appearances changed so fast.

Road's ashen skin and gold eyes return to normal and she's skipping around the store towards the exit. Tyki didn't change much, on the other hand. His eyes changed back to their dark brown that I'm used to seeing. And both have left their cross scars behind too.

_So these are just disguises._

Their appearances back there must be their real ones. Then even Tyki's hobo look—ah, too much information. My brain's going to overload.

"Hurry." Tyki calls and pulls on my wrist taking me towards Road's direction.

My words come out muttered because I'm trying to focus on so many things at a time. I have no idea still where they're taking me but I notice that outside is raining so I hurry to put the cloak that Road gave me with one hand.

Someone's already outside waiting affront a carriage holding an umbrella by the path that leads from the shop to the carriage. The moment we come out, the coachman's holding the umbrella to keep the pour from Tyki and Road.

Distastefully, though, he literally _avoids_ me and I feel the rain pellet down on me. Thank God that I put the cloak on before we came out. The walk to the carriage is short so it's not much of a shower that I get. Tyki and Road take one side of the seats while I take the opposite one; once we're in, the carriage goes on its way.

The curtains on the door block my sight of the outside view so I can't really know where we're going. Not like actually seeing the streets can help me any since I don't know much of this place's layout, much less where to go to reach the others. From what I've gathered through the months, though, this world seems to have some cities and countries the same as mine. The countries were pretty much the same—Europe's a good example with some of their respective cities like Spain or Portugal but the town in them have weird names.

But that isn't here nor there.

The carriage came to a stop a good twenty minutes later. The door was held open for them but like I was already expecting, the coachman completely dismisses me. Not like I complain anyway since there's no use in that. Once out, my eyes catch the sight of the grand manor that stands before me.

It's more of a mansion and since it is night and raining this just brings a dreadful feeling to me.

_Please don't be the stupid Resident Evil mansion. I don't want to have zombie dogs and red-headed living dead chasing me atop of all the other crap I have to deal with now._

Joking aside though, the mansion is eerie beyond measure. Just the scenery Mother Nature is doing right now made it seem petrifying.

"C'mon, pooch. Your new home awaits!" Road coos and goes on ahead into the mansion while Tyki lingers halfway between both of us; not quite following Road but not quite waiting for me either.

Not wanting to stand a second longer than I have to outside in the pouring rain, I run up to the door and past Tyki. Once inside I brush the excess water off me before removing my cowl and looking around. The foyer was exquisite. And if this is how the simple foyer looks then everything else won't fall far behind.

"Road!" The frail voice that calls the girl's name takes me by surprise. At lifting my gaze, I see an older woman climbing down the stairs that lead to the second floor of the mansion. She's real pretty, maybe not a beauty but she's still scaling somewhere up there. She walks over to the girl and lifts her up like nothing into her arms. "There you are. I've been worried sick."

"It's okay, mother. Uncle Tyki just took me out for a while to see the Earl!" Road giggles giddily and that only makes the woman— _her mother?—_ smile. My gaze goes up to Tyki this time at hearing her call him 'uncle'.

Out of habit, a smirk comes to my lips as I mouth the words that Road just said. He sees this and sighs frustrated but turns to the woman with a sweet smile. "I'm terribly sorry about not saying anything, Tricia. It's just that Road wanted to go and who am I to say no, really."

"I suppose so," Tricia answers and puts Road down beside her. "Be sure to tell me next time, though. Or at least inform Sheril that way I won't be so cross at you." She says this but it seems she's half-joking by the way she smiles at them both.

"Of course we will," Tyki assures her and returns the gesture.

It's only after that little matter is dealt with that she finally gazes at me. The sudden scrutiny makes me a little self-conscious especially because she seems to be a normal person. Nothing like Road and Tyki. But then again I thought the same thing about the latter so who am I to judge.

"And this is?"

"Uncle Tyki's companion!" Road blurts out before any of us can say anything. I'm sure we could've put that a thousand other ways to make it sound any less suggestive.

Regardless of that, Tyki brushes it off as nothing and changes Road's sudden impression of me. "She's a family friend, Tricia. A _very_ distant one. Lost her parents just recently and we went over to bring her here for a while. Hope you do not mind."

"Not at all." The answer is instant and without any hesitation. She's kindhearted but at the same time seemingly naïve if she can't notice the sarcasm in Tyki's voice. Or maybe it's just me who's grown more aware of them—especially of him.

Tricia comes closer to us along with Road and gives a slight bow. "How very pleasant to make your acquaintance. I am Tricia Kamelot."

Not wanting to make a fool of her or myself, I quickly mirror her gesture before answering her. "Likewise, ma'am. And my name's Reina Amaro."

"Reina, what a delightful name." Her honesty makes my cheeks tint a bit pink. "So you're a family member."

" _Distant_ one, ma'am. But yes." I try to emphasize that one part because there's no need to put me in the same bag as these maniacs. And the less she thought of me, the better.

"Well, any familiar of Sheril and Tyki's is very much welcomed in this house." Her bright smile was suddenly interrupted by a fit of coughing.

The scene changes immediately upon that. Road's face changed in worry and Tyki came up to her trying to comfort her fit. She raises her hand to let them know that she's fine but the sickly paleness doesn't disappear.

_She must be sick._

"You should retire to rest, Tricia. We've already put you in too much stress."

"That you have," she assures with a weak smile. She turns to Road one last time and kisses her on the head. "You should be off to bed soon, young lady. Be sure to see your father before that and have supper as well."

"Yes, mother~" Road coos back with a shining smile from ear to ear that hides the unpleasantries that she's shown me plenty of just in one day. "Rest well."

"You too, my dear." Something churns in my throat at watching her walk back up those stairs with that frail body of hers. So nice yet so easily deceived by their manipulation.

"Your mother?" I finally say when she's out of earshot and we're heading towards goodness knew where in the second floor's West wing.

"Adoptive mother," Road says with a nonchalance that completely contrasts over the giddiness she displayed just a few seconds ago. "Both my parents are."

_Like me._

"But that doesn't concern you," Tyki says out of the blue as we arrive to a room that was far out from the entrance. He opens the door and allows Road to go in but I hesitate slightly. We enter a slight glaring contest before he simply grabs my forearm and pulls me in and closes the door behind himself after entering.

The inside of the room is well-furnished much like the one I woke up at but this one at least has windows unlike the other. Inside is Road and another man that I haven't met. He does remind me a bit of Tyki though.

"This is the 'vermin' the Millennium Earl was speaking of?" is the first thing he says when he sees me and that just ticks me off. He's awfully straight-forward.

"I'd rather you call this _vermin_ by her name; Reina," I spit out with a venom in my voice that's audible to all but they decide to ignore it. "Now that we're here—wherever _here_ is—would you mind explaining to me what sort of diabolical plan I just happened to sell my soul to?"

"It's diabolical, you are correct in that, young mutt," the older version of Tyki says with an unpleasant smile that went well with the comment.

_I might just begin to like pooch better._

"Might telling me who you are? I'd like to put a nameplate on your coffin when I nail it shut." I didn't know where the sass and sarcasm was coming from but I much appreciate it. I hate being pushed around…especially since I've been harassed before like that. Before I used to check myself with what I said; nowadays I'm happy that I was born with such a snappy mouth.

"The name's Sheril Kamelot, mutt. And you will address me as the master of this house," he points out with a rather manic grin.

"Which makes you Road's father," I mutter to myself as the girl goes over to the bed and sits down. My eyes go over to Tyki who goes on to lean against the posts of the bed before seemingly shutting himself out of the conversation. "And seeing as your Road's uncle—his brother."

"Younger," he simply replies before shutting his eyes as well.

"Would that make you one of them? Not human, I mean." His only answer is a creepy smile that isn't helping my confidence much. A nervous sigh escapes me before I try to keep my calm and ask again. "So, what is this about 'proving' myself?"

"It's very simple, really." It's Road that answers my question this time. "Make yourself useful. Whether physically or mentally doesn't really matter. As long as any of us in the family deems you are being useful, you'll get to live. If you don't…"

_Game over._

Road giggles and continues on to explain. "The only good point I see in you is that brain of yours, to be honest. The way you rationalized your way through my Dream was rather unusual."

"I've figured by now that your entertainment is the only reason you've kept me alive," I answer with a nervous grin, trying not to falter against their scrutiny.

"And the Earl granted us that whim," Road coos with a gran smirk. "Which makes it a-okay for us~!"

"So if I'm useful to you guys, you'll let me live?"

"For the time being, yes," Sheril answers this time. "You're the new family pet, mutt. And as such you will be taken care of so long as you follow two simple rules." He raises his hand and raises one finger. "First and foremost, these will be your chambers; you will not be allowed to leave this room and much less the mansion unless accompanied by a member of the family." He raises another. "Second, you must follow our every command. It'll take time but you will learn to serve your masters." He lowers his hand and smiles creepily, "And of course, fulfilling that purpose of yours that my darling daughter proposed is always at play."

"Ooh, father! Could we get her a collar?"

_What?!_

"It might not be such a bad idea, my dear. It would be a hassle to lose sight of her."

The talk is getting me a bit nervous and makes me reach for my neck. The moment I do, though, my fingers feel the thin chain that hangs from my bosom.

"There's no need for one." We all turn to Tyki who hasn't spoken throughout this whole ordeal. Because of how close we all are to each other, he simply gets up from leaning on the post and raises his hand inches away from my chest. I have the urge to back off but I can't when I see something blossom from the palm of his hand.

It's a dark blob at first that unfurls its sharply edged wings out before showing all of itself. My eyes are caught by the simplistic beauty of the dark amethyst insect that rose from his palm, "A butterfly?"

"Tease." It's the only thing that I hear him say before the tiny butterfly flutters its way over to me and lands at the end of my gold chain. It bursts into tiny purple particles before they conjoin to form a tiny amethyst pendant that's butterfly-shaped. "That's your tag. You go anywhere besides where you're supposed to and that Tease infused on the chain will alert me. Don't try to do anything funny."

"Well, that settles that argument," Sheril declares with a severe finality. "Do you have anything to say?"

Oh, I have something to say.

There's plenty that I want to say—so many profanities and insults that I'd love to throw in their faces but I'm left speechless. Despite my big mouth, I've always had something else to protect me through life that has been only mine: my instincts. That gut feeling that's been right so far about a lot of things in this quaint world.

And right now they were telling me to keep my mouth shut.

_Please, Reina. For once in your life, listen._

It would kill my ego later but for once I decide to bite my tongue and listen to them. But piling stuff up like this isn't good for me, so maybe I should—okay, maybe I just want to thrash the place and blame someone for this but in reality the only one I have to blame for my current position is me.

Had I not followed Tyki around, I would be with Eeze and the others living a peacefully oblivious life.

_But peace is boring._

Shut up, brain. This is _not_ the time for your philosophical psychobabble.

"Well, if there are no more further questions, I'll be preparing for supper. Servants will be sent to fetch you once it is ready."

"I'm eating with you?" The question is out before I can even stop it.

"If you want to miss it go right ahead," Sheril comments once he reaches the door and opens it. "But you won't be allowed any food until tomorrow at breakfast."

"I'm on a restricted schedule too?"

"Of course~!" Road cheers with that creepy giddiness. "Making sure that a pet is fed is part of a master's job. That is, unless they misbehave." Her stare suddenly changes and becomes a gelid sight for my eyes; it's like she's insinuating something but I can't grasp exactly what. "But I'll be seeing you at dinner, pooch~"

Sheril opens the door to let Road skip out and ahead of him. He follows shortly after and Tyki follows a little bit behind.

I can't just keep my mouth shut.

_I just need somebody to talk to._

He stops in his tracks the moment my hands reach out and grab his wrist. He turns slightly, enough to glance over his shoulder at me. I try to give him my best puppy-eyed look and he cringes at seeing it.

_Well, fuck. Time for Plan B._

"Don't go," my voice is low and soft much like how it sounds when I'm doing some _other_ activities but that's beside the point. "Stay. I just need someone…to talk to." There's doubt in his eyes still but they won't avert from mine.

_Just one last hit, Reina._

"Please, Tyki."

That did it. He gives a quick double take towards the door before groaning in frustration and closing the door the other two left open. He then just comes over to where I am and stares awkwardly at me with a twitch on his eye.

He couldn't be more displeased about what I had just made him do.

But it's all in good faith…at least where my mental health and I are concerned.

"What do you want?"

The aggravated tone of voice and irritated look throw me over the edge. So I do the first thing that I've always done when I'm mad—resort to violence.

The kick on the sheen catches him by surprise. He cusses loudly at me before catching his injury and glares at me.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"For being such a fucking lying bastard!" The insult comes out at the top of my lungs. If I'm going to let out steam, I'm going to let it all out. "What's this fucking bullshit about these freaks and you being one of them!? What the hell!"

"You're calling me out now?!" he retorts just as mad. But I can assure you that I'm even angrier.

 _Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned._ _And I've got plenty of hell to go around._

"You think I'm going to when you're all threatening to kill me!" My fist punches him again for good measure on the shoulder. "You think I'm that stupid?!"

"And I'm the obvious punching bag?"

"You're the one at fault!"

"How the hell's this my fault?"

"Because—" But no explanation comes out of my mouth. Instead all that does come out is a frustrated groan alike his. I storm over to the bed while he recovers and grab the first thing that my hands reach. The pillow is thrown before anything can stop me and it makes contact with his face. "It doesn't matter! It's your crazy family and you're the one that argued to keep me here! Why did you do that?!"

All this is said while I throw any and all objects I can get my hands on and throw them one after another at him. I grab a candelabra and finally open my eyes before throwing it his way at my last sentence.

My breath hitches when I see that the metal candelabra simply misses him. No, it didn't just miss—it went _through_ him. My eyes find all the objects I had haphazardly thrown a few feet _right_ behind him.

You've got to be kidding.

_Road can control your Dreams, Reina. Is this that much of a surprise?_

It is.

Mostly because I'm finding out things about a man I thought I knew for almost a year now. Things that aren't pretty and that aren't humane.

"Are you done with your hissy fit?" he asks nonchalantly as if this is nothing more than a tantrum a child is having.

I'm not a child but I feel just as scared as one would be of the monsters underneath their bed. At least what they're scared of doesn't exist. I'm looking those demons right in the eye and have one walking towards me.

_Don't._

Something in me is breaking, a dam that hasn't been opened since I was little.

_Don't come._

With every step he takes, it breaks even further and fear slowly starts trickling into me. A deep and genuine terror of what he could do to me.

_Don't come any closer._

Those things went right through him. They passed him like nothing. Like they didn't exist in the world at all. The uneasiness about my safety only grows tenfold at realizing he too has some kind of power like Road. And if he does then God knows what he can do to me.

_I'm scared._

I can't let him get any closer than this. He's already a few feet away but he keeps getting closer and closer. This can't go on. I can't take this anymore. I won't hold on much longer.

_Just—_

"Come on, lil' queen. Just calm down and—" the moment he starts reaching his hand towards me is when I finally snap.

" **Get away from me!"**

My actions are innate and my body moves on its own. My left hand was already on my back pocket by the time he started walking towards me. The moment he reaches out and I snap is when my hand swiftly unfurls my butterfly knife and haphazardly slashes out to keep him at bay.

My eyes are shut tight when I do this and the moment I open them up again I gasp at what I see and what I have done.

The hand that he had reached out towards me has a nasty gash across his palm from where blood is flowing from. A red line seeps down the palm that he watches with an astonished look. He spends seconds simply staring at the wound that I had inflicted, the blood that pours out of it now staining the edge of my knife.

In the quickest span of seconds, his astonishment turns to clear anger that oozes out of every pore. But it isn't that in itself that petrifies me, it's the sudden delirious smirk that mimics Road's the time she was torturing me that scares me to death. This makes me flinch and just kicks my brain into overdrive and basically turns me into a scared rabbit before an angered wolf with only one basic instinct surfacing.

Fight or flight?

 _Run_...

Before anything else can occur, my feet sprint out towards the closest door that regrettably isn't the exit. Instead the room to which I just scurry into and slam the door on before locking is the bathroom in the room.

Once I lock it, I step back and stand against the opposite wall as much as I can. I start wishing I could just meld into the wall and simply disappear.

Silence reigns over the room that simply has it out to kill me from the anticipation. My eyes are glued on that door fearing he might just tear it down and get me. But that isn't necessary…

Just like when I had thrown those objects at him, he seemed to phase through the door without a scratch to my side. My breath catches in horror when the knowledge of what he can do finally hits me over all this panic.

He's intangible to objects. He can simply phase through them like nothing.

_He's Shadowcat._

He stands there while I try my best to not hyperventilate and completely fail at it. At seeing how agitated I am, the hints of a sneer show on his lips.

"Frankly, it excites me to see that look of total despair on you." He starts walking over and I try to push my way through the wall behind me but I can't. I'm not him. "It delights me that I can cause this to you when nothing else has."

He finally reaches me and with the hand that I had cut, he reaches out and lightly caresses my cheek. The warmth of his hand and blood mingle with the coldness that his voice holds and it turns it into a terrible mix of emotions in me.

The majority of me is scared of him but there's a slight part that wishes he would just get it over with.

She's the one that wants to end it. The part of me that I can't let go of. She knows—as do I—that he's not normal. He isn't human. And that if I go against him, he'll crush me here and now. Resisting will only hold off the inevitable.

She just wants it to end.

But I don't.

_I want to live._

His hand cups my cheek smearing it with the warm liquid before it travels down to my throat. "But it's not enough, lil' queen." A manic expression comes over him that moment. "I want more from you." The instant he says that his hand tightens around my neck and squeezes tightly.

The air stops flowing the second he does this and my eyes begin to water up from it. But he won't let go. I scratch at his hand but he won't release me. His eyes are lost and wide as if amazed at what he's seeing.

_Let—go._

"Ty…ki—" is all I manage to say through croaks that let what little air I have left out.

The moment he hears me call him, though, he finally blinks and releases his hand. Neither him nor I had noticed that he had lifted me a few feet from the grown which shows when I collapse on the floor the moment he lets go and become a heap of violent coughs.

My sight is blurry but when I look up at him, he still has that astonished look on his face. Something bothered him when he grabbed me in that chokehold.

_The thought of killing me?_

I highly doubt it.

His expression changes in the span of a second into the same stoic one from before all this. He takes a knee before me and although I don't want to be anywhere near him, I can't move much without the much needed air that I had lost.

"You want to know why I saved you?" He didn't stop to wait for an answer, not like I could give him any. "You're part of my light side, and the others who are too care for you. It's for their sake that I've kept you alive. But I'll warn you this once, Reina, _you_ were the one that stumbled upon my dark side. And _this_ is who I am here. _This_ is me. And it'd be in your best interest to keep that always in mind."

His hand comes up and brushes my hair behind my ear before he leans in to whisper. "Remember, you're nothing but a toy to trifle with." After saying that he simply gets up and walks through the wall that's behind me.

I can do nothing but sit there utterly appalled at what just happened. I was almost killed by a man who had protected me before. A man who sees me now as nothing more than a plaything. One who I stupidly thought actually cared.

 _You're an idiot, Reina. It_ was _too good to be true. And now you're paying for placing such trust upon a person you didn't know._

All those doubts from when I first met them are just starting to prove right. A little too late but they're never misplaced. I was right to be jaded and stupid to let my guard down.

_This world isn't so different from mine after all._

And here I thought that after living through those three long years under Mother Noir's ruthless hand I had learned my lesson.

" _The world is a place of war, child. You either are strong enough to live or you become food for those who are. No one looks out for you but yourself. Not us, and certainly not I. You will learn to be strong. You will learn to survive. And if not…to the chopping block you go."_

She was right. This world is nothing but a playground for the cruel hand of fate that should be treated as such.

Never let your guard down.

Never let others at your back.

Never trust others with yourself.

Because in the end they will always choose in their best interest, not yours.

_Only you can care for yourself._

But if that is true then why am I crying?

Why did this betrayal—more than Papa's unjustified death, more than my unfair involvement with Mother Noir, and more than the O'Conners fearing the daughter they adopted—hurt most of all?

But no matter how much I ask that question over and over, there's no answer. Every time I keep asking _why_ there's only the horrible silence that answers back. It repeats until I finally realize the reason.

There _is_ no answer to that question.

And that just makes me weep my heart out even more.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Eleven** _

**Game of Life**

* * *

It's been…ten years now.

Ten years since I left that place and those people.

Ten since I left behind a lifestyle I never asked for.

And yet the teachings I learned there have always been the most appropriate in my life.

It all started after my father's murder.

I was appointed a legal guardian before ACS took me. Uncle Donnie took me in despite being a widower with children of his own. But the government thought that they knew better than to leave me with someone who knew me since birth so they took me away.

The first few days I spent them in a shelter while they found me a suitable foster home. A week went by before they placed me in a possible candidate's. A month in and everything seemed all right. It was after the ACS agent came by to verify my well-being and saw that I was all right that it all started going wrong.

The woman they took to me with was involved in some business that needed for her to travel constantly. Not very far distances but she would constantly leave me alone by myself. Unattended and as young as I was, I had to learn to care for myself; making meals, cleaning, and studying were what I mostly had to do.

On one of the occasions that I went out to get groceries a boy a few years older than me was waiting outside the lady's door. He might have been twelve or so but at my age and height he was intimidating not to mention his rough appearance.

He started to ask about the lady that lived with me but I knew not where she went most of the times, just that she left for long periods. He didn't care. An argument broke out, one that turned into a struggle pretty fast.

The moment he became tired of fighting me, he drew out a knife and was adamant to cut me. So scared was I that I let it all pass me by. My brain shut off.

And be it by divine hand or sheer luck, a miracle happened…he didn't kill me. It had been the opposite; I wounded him severely. Thank goodness it hadn't been enough to kill him but I later came to know he was crippled from the arm that I had stabbed.

The lady came back a few minutes later with another woman and reprimanded me for what I had done. She was hysteric saying that she didn't have any way to repay 'Mother' for an accident like that. The woman that had accompanied her there told her that she could trade for liberation of her debt.

Back then I didn't know what they were talking about or how it implicated me. Wish I would've though, it could've saved me a whole lot of trouble.

Regardless of that, the lady took me to Mother and told me that _she_ would be my mother from now on. I didn't object. Didn't know that what she was doing was wrong not to mention illegal. It wasn't until later that I found out that she used me as leverage to pay of a debt she'd gathered betting on the ponies to the _famille_ ; a French gang that had settled there a few years back and was vastly known in the area for running the underground turfs.

A family that took orphans in to train them as all the different positions they needed. But for whatever reason, the head of the family, Mother Noir, saw something in me and decided that I would be her new 'daughter'.

Despite how nifty the title sounds it was anything but. Because she had chosen me specifically it only intensified the training that I went through in contrast to all the other initiates.

" _This will be your new home, child. And here you shall live under my rules. You will be bred to fight both physically and mentally and tested to proof yourself to the family and to me, it's Mother."_

And that training put me through hell and back. The reason they got their members young was to indoctrinate them. The forty of us that entered that year ranged from the ages of five to ten but never any older. And although the younger ones were given more time to recuperate were they injured, we all went through the same rigorous training.

Now that I think about it, it reminds me of the military—and seeing how I went with Seb and Ger one year along with Jade to a boot camp, I knew exactly what they did. In there their tactics were to take you to the breaking point and rebuild you as they saw fit.

This was no different…only harder.

They broke you then build you a quarter of the way for inspection from Mother. If she saw you weren't making proper progress, you got beaten. If you were doing fine you were only deprived of food and water for a day or two. And if you were exceptionally good they only trained you harder. There was no winning this.

When I first started my training, I was in the bottom quite a lot so I got beaten up a lot. There were no scars to show unless you looked at the soles of my feet. That's the only place where the beater was allowed to leave them but hardly the only place they were allowed to hit. Mother Noir liked her soldiers clean and presentable. She hated imperfections on her being and seeing as we were part of her _family_ we were a part of her too; and if we were sullied it meant she too was dirty.

She hated not being perfect but she hated her new recruits being weak even more.

And that I, her hand-selected prodigy, was doing so poorly infuriated her.

Mother Noir allowed harsher beatings on me than on the others so that I would learn not to disgrace her. At first the beatings hurt enough to make me cry but as the days went by I learned that crying only made it worse. So instead I thought of other things; happy things. Soon I was so detached that beatings didn't serve a purpose anymore.

At noticing this, Mother Noir decided to break me another way. She liked guns so she used me as a target practice. Mother was known for being the best gunslinger there was and she enjoyed seeing me panic because of what she did.

" _If you won't learn one way you will learn another,"_ she would say every time she practiced before cocking her gun at the target behind me.

That taught me a good lesson I didn't forget: fear is a great instigator.

So after a couple more times in the bottom, I decided to train until I couldn't anymore and better myself. If I wanted to live a relatively pain-free life there, I needed to be at the top of the roster at all times. Being pushed to do better beat the hell out of…well, being beat.

Soon I could take kids that were several years older than me not to mention taller and beefier. I learned that my small height made me quick and that I could simply use my opponent against themselves.

The best lesson was that brains always beat brawn.

By the end of our training only eight kids remained and I was the youngest and best fighter. I could hold my own against them all and Mother Noir couldn't be happier. The others kids not so much. They resented me for making them look bad but back then it was a thing of beat or be beaten, quite literally.

But it was stupid of me to think that just because we had gone past the training phase that we were done and safe. That was just preparation; the next phase was a hazing for the initiation.

That hazing was what left the most enduring scars. The same ones that Road exploited in my dreams.

The fear of heights came from the first part. They bounded us in ropes, hands behind our backs, and tied us up to tall tree branches right over a deep lake.

Mother Noir told us that we would be left there for five days and that if after that time we hadn't already brought ourselves down that we were done with initiation and would be sent to the chopping block.

None of us wanted to go to the chopping block. That was a place from where no one returned. The kids that had failed to pass on to the initiation phase were taken there and never came out. In the chopping block they did just that…chopped.

Those five days and nights were a hell that I can't explain. My wrists some times feel the phantom pain of the rough ropes around them. I wasn't the first to get down but I got out of it some time during the fourth night. When I fell into the water it was like hitting an ice bath. It chilled my lungs so badly that it hurt to breath but I made it.

Two weren't so lucky.

And since they would punish us if we helped them there wasn't much we could do. They came back for us the sixth morning. The bodyguards took the two down and off to the chopping block in a tantrum of cries and yells.

They took us to eat and get dressed afterwards but it wasn't over yet. That same night we got taken out into a room one by one were they sat us on a chair and leaned us back to put towels over our faces before pouring small amounts of water over us.

It felt horrible, like I was drowning.

They didn't actually waterboard us for long. It was just to break us. It was to see which ones were loyal under stressful situations and which ones weren't. That was the much harsher test that cut our numbers down to three.

Me and two others.

The initiation was the end of it. Mother Noir welcomed us to the family and baptized us with our weapons and positions.

The boys that survived were given a gun and a hunting knife and were given positions of guards in the facilities. I was given that butterfly knife that I always have handy and also the position to be Mother's guard alongside the other two adults.

It was clear to say that the other two were displeased with my role and how I was jumping hoops because of Mother's favor. But I would've given that position up to anybody who wanted it had I been able to.

Because of my age, Mother liked keeping me better as an ornament than an actual bodyguard. I was a kid of barely seven and a half when I finished my initiation so she kept me as a mere lapdog to show off around in meetings with turf leaders or the like. There was only one thing she did allow me to do though.

When they caught people that needed interrogation and they wouldn't seem to budge under normal circumstances, Mother Noir would send me in.

I know what you're saying; "Why would they be more scared of a child?"

Well, that detachment that I began having during my training was more permanent than I, or anybody for that matter really, thought. Mother Noir noticed that as time went by I continued to detach from the present and let myself act automatically under orders.

She knew that I did this mostly when I faced things I didn't want to do. And torturing—which they so shamelessly called interrogating—was something I loathe even today. Seeing innocents suffer is something I've never been fond of just like Papa.

He was a narcotics detective and knew that a lot of the times he had to grill down perps and the like but it really pained him to grill the citizens who fell victims to them. And apparently I'm not any more indifferent than he was.

But when I was given an order, I had to follow it. If not—I feared the consequences every second of the day and Mother Noir never failed to remind me.

It was either join the interrogations or the chopping block.

You can guess what I picked.

The interrogations weren't so bad when I didn't have to get involved. They would get hurt, yeah, but at least it wasn't me who was causing it to them. But when they wouldn't crack that's when I got thrown at them.

Because of my detachment, I was indifferent to their pain or what harm I caused them. Mother Noir had already taught me plenty on effective torture techniques and I knew how to make people talk. Ask them nicely and if it didn't work, ask them nicely again but the second time would be with a honeyed tone and an underlying threat of bodily harm by me.

Many didn't believe a child could harm anybody; that was their first mistake. If I was told to, I stabbed people, cut their fingers or ears off, jab at eyeballs, and I had to do this all while having a smile on my face.

Now I know why Road had scared me so much the first time I met her. She reminds me a lot of myself back in those times. Back then I didn't care about them, only about my survival in the family.

Those who believed my threat enough, or who had suffered hours by my hand, would sing like birds to Mother's requests, and once my job was done I was let go.

It was afterwards that the mental damage hit me. The scenes that I caused would never completely ingrain in my brain until after I fell asleep. They came back in nightmares so vivid and lucid that I would wake up screaming and crying in the middle of the night.

Every night and day was the same for those three long years.

Until the day that they weren't—I'll never forget that night…or her name.

Cherise Campbell.

We started interrogating her that night, a young mother from the city who worked at an opposing family's bar. As always, I sat in during the interrogation that Rufus and Harold—Mother's new bodyguards and, coincidentally, the grown boys that I had trained and passed with—were conducting.

Despite the horrendous techniques— _and I mean uglier than ugly—_ Cherise continued to hold her silence. It was something that I couldn't fathom from her or any who came before her. They remained silent until they had to be physically and mentally abused to such point that it was inhuman.

To each their own, I suppose, but something seemed different about Cherise. I had overheard Mother talking about her as being an informant for the opposing family and that if anybody knew anything it would be her. But the more the interrogation went on, the more I realized that she wasn't lying; she didn't know anything about what we were asking of her.

The fifth night that we had her I was told to keep her awake and deprived from sleep. Despite being an order, I would let her sleep small intervals then wake her. At least that way she got a bit of sleep. If she didn't feel like sleeping, she would talk to me despite the fact that I was prohibited from speaking to her.

She told me a lot of things: about her family and mostly her older sister, about her diseased husband and about her cute little boy, her 'little Nicky'.

The days went by and she and I would just spend the time like that: me listening to her talk about her life. But after a month of having her there, Mother Noir finally gave the order she seldom gave for interrogation victims.

" _If she won't speak for her own peace then she will rest in pieces."_

The only difference was that she didn't give that order to Rufus or Harold, she gave it to me.

 _Me_ —a girl of barely ten years of age.

A girl that despite having lost her innocence and hope in life still believed in what her father told her.

" _Every life matters,_ reinita. _All who live deserve a chance to do just that. Who are we to take away what God has given?"_

Rufus and Harold held her and Mother Noir gave me the gun.

A few minutes went by but they felt like an eternity. She had never asked this of me and for a good reason. Mother Noir knew I couldn't do it. She was well aware that I was too young and weak-minded to commit such a thing. That this was the only action where my detachment didn't work.

And she exploited that.

She left Cherise's mouth ungagged during this execution and I heard every last word she said.

" _Do it."_

" _It's okay,_ ma petite."

" _I'll be fine."_

She was trying to comfort me. Cherise realized how hard this was on me and was trying to make it easier by telling me it wasn't my fault and that I should just get it over with. But how could I? She was the nicest person that I had met ever since I came to be there.

She was like Papa.

And that just made my decision that much simpler.

_Someone who's like Papa doesn't deserve to die._

So I did what I had never done before—I disobeyed a direct order.

To say that Mother was furious would be an understatement. She was so livid with rage that she snatched the gun from me and bashed me with the grip right on the side of my head. The hit was so hard that it left me dazed.

She called me a disgrace and that I would pay dearly for it. She muttered in a language I cannot to this day understand and ordered Rufus and Harold to take Cherise back.

As for me…

" _Take the prisoner back to her cell. As for you, you've disgraced me for the last time. Tomorrow I will deal with this vermin myself and you along with it."_

They locked me up along with Cherise to face Mother's execution in the morrow. The thing is I wasn't a scared a little girl anymore. That disobedience fired up something in me that till this day stands: my will to live.

Too bad they taught me too well.

With what I had learned from those three years, I managed to get Cherise and I out of the chains and out towards freedom. We were a good distance out when the sirens of the building went off. They figured we had escaped and not far behind we could hear the ruckus that was being made from them looking for us.

I thought it couldn't get worse…until it did.

" _Run,_ mon cherie. _"_ But despite how vehemently I refused her, she only smiled caringly. _"Get away and live. One as kind as you deserves a life better than this."_ And before I could stop her she ran in their direction. Going back would be suicide for both of us and if I went back I would just dishonor her wish.

But the real reason why I ran away was because I was a coward who couldn't protect the only person who had shown me kindness in that horrid place.

Tears staining my face, I ran as far as the alleyways of the nearby city before I was caught. The only thing I felt was a sharp pinch on my leg that sent me down before I knew it. A foot kicked me over and there above me were Harold and Rufus with sadistic grins.

" _Mother was right."_

" _Isn't she always? So creepy."_

" _Well, we've got to deal with the runt. Don't want her snitching us out."_

Rufus knelt down before me as I laid in my paralyzed state before spiting in my face and stabbing my abdomen. The pain was intense but despite that I couldn't utter a single word. Whatever they had shot me with was potent enough to render my tiny body useless.

" _What'd you say, Ruf? Want to have our fun with her?"_

" _Sure, why not? She's gonna get killed anyway once we take her back."_

" _Finally—"_ I couldn't see much but I did hear him begin to unbuckle his belt. _"Payback time."_ But before he was able to do whatever awful thing he had planned a noise nearby caught them unawares. _"Hear that?"_

" _Must be people passing by."_

" _This late?"_

The noise became a ruckus that scared them enough to act rashly. They knew they needed to get away but they also knew that if they let me live and Mother found out the two of them would wind up dead.

" _Hurry, Ruf!"_

" _Don't worry, sweet cheeks—"_ he assured with a manic grin while cocking the gun right at my heart. _"This will only hurt a lot."_

Those were the words that I would learn to despise for the rest of my days along with the deafening popping mingled with a loud shout.

The pain blurred a lot of the memories from when I got shot to when I woke up in the hospital. All I do remember is a voice—a boy's voice—attempting to keep me conscious and a hand trying to put pressure on the wounds.

" _D-Don't worry, you're gonna be okay—You hear that? The ambulance is near. You're gonna be all right—Don't go. Stay with me—I won't let anything else happen to you. But please, stay with me."_

Those kind words were all I remembered after I woke up in the hospital a couple of days later. The only one there beside me was a young boy who couldn't have been any older than four years or so compared to me. He had been watching me sleep and the moment I awoke his gentle honey-colored eyes smiled at me.

"Good morning," he jokingly whispered while brushing the hair off my brow. "You're okay now. You'll be just fine."

As he tells me, Jaden had snuck out that day and was on his way to see some friends when he heard the commotion. Because he only heard children he thought it was some fight so he looked for it and found the two harassing me. He yelled which is what I guess the two heard that made them panic.

Panicked enough to miss the shot at my heart by a few inches.

Jaden had scared them away and saved my life.

The few months that followed were a havoc. I was still in the hospital when the cops came to arrest me. Jaden, who for some reason was still staying by my side, argued against them but couldn't stop them. Besides, I knew they were doing the right thing.

They told me some days later that they didn't _want_ to arrest me. All that they wanted was information about Mother Noir and the famille and in exchange they would let me out on probation.

I didn't hesitate to answer them after that betrayal. There wasn't much I could recall but what I did helped them. While I was still in the hospital, the DEA and FBI caught several of the members and staked out the hideouts. By the time I was fully recovered, Mother Noir's family was obliterated to the ground.

Charged with several accounts of unlawful imprisonment, drug and human trafficking, and possession of illegal explosive devices, the family members who were caught, the ones working in governmental offices and those in regular businesses were all convicted.

Including Mother Noir—Estelle Campbell, eldest daughter of the Campbell family and older sister of Cherise who had tragically died the night of the escape.

And after that last day in court when the jury made their final decision, I finally knew that my nightmare was over.

But there was another I dreaded to come.

I was yet again homeless in a city that I knew nothing about. There was no one to take me in or take me back home. I knew that the moment this ended I would once again end up in the system like before.

My assumptions were proven wrong, though, when the A.D.A on the case came after the court's final say to see me at the hospital a few days before my discharge.

Her name was Colette O'Conner.

Jaden's mother.

She had talked to ACS beforehand about taking me in. They had no objections against it and so after my discharge I was appointed the O'Conners as a surrogate family until I stayed there long enough for them to adopt me.

The first years there when I was still in probation and still plagued by nightmarish flashbacks were the worst, but I could tell that they loved me and cared about me. They helped me by sending me to therapy and giving me all the support they could and with time I got somewhat accustomed back into a normal life.

Yet never fully recovered either.

And well…the rest is history.

* * *

As I lay simply catatonic in bed, the past seems to rush in like the flood gates were just opened. And seeing as not even a half an hour ago I was almost killed, I'm not surprised the nasty flashbacks aren't coming. But hey, who am I to complain?

It's not like here I won't make some _great_ new ones.

A sigh escapes me as I try to rid my head of the nasty thoughts but my mind keeps comparing this crazy family with Mother's.

If I had to say, the so called Millennium Earl is a good surrogate of Noir just fatter and creepier while all the others I've seen and have yet to meet are the same thugs that I hanged with before.

It's by seeing it this way that I can control my emotions better about this whole situation.

_Detachment._

My best weapon of all. By detaching myself from this emotionally I can concentrate better on how to escape or fulfill their stupid requests.

But it was turning out to be hard to detach myself this time. Especially because for almost a year now I have been fraternizing with one of them. It did take the edge away from me though. It helped that I could see them like they saw me, just a sack of flesh and bones to use.

The more I think about it this way, though, the more I can't help but want to stop it. I've fought against these urges and habits for over ten years and I swear I was making progress. But resort back to them now, all those years of therapy and care will all have been for naught.

My mind's in a jumble of thoughts when a sudden knock on the door startles me. Since I'm still jumpy about what happened _earlier_ my hand goes to my butterfly knife out of instinct.

"Miss Pet." _Grand, just…grand._ "We're here to take you to dinner."

_Dinner?_

That's right. Sheril told me about dinner being soon and if I missed it I wouldn't eat till morning. Honestly, I didn't want to see any of them but the moment my stomach rumbles I know that I can't fight against it.

Damn me and my huge appetite.

"C-Come in," is the order I give but never take my hand away from my pocket as they enter.

The maid that comes in is pretty young by the looks of her and the others aren't much different. Curly blonde hair and brown eyes remain with a small smile that I can see from a thousand miles how fake it is. There's no doubt that she was told how they're to treat me. And she isn't wasting time dallying around.

"Let's prepare you for dinner."

 _Prepare_ _me?_

"Excuse you?" I ask a bit unnerved by her phrasing.

"We were ordered by Lord Kamelot to dress you appropriately for dinner with the family." She went up ahead to the wardrobe that stood in the room and began looking through it. "You shall bathe first and then we shall see about your apparel."

Bathe? Before I can even raise my question, the other maids are pushing and shoving me towards another door in the room which leads us to the bathroom. One starts preparing the tub while the other attempts to harass me into taking my clothes off.

It's when she starts getting a head start that I snap at her. "I can do that myself!"

She backs off and stares at me dully for a moment before she goes on to help the other maid with the tub and other things. It isn't embarrassing to be naked in front of others, I just don't like being undressed like a little kid.

Once I'm fully unclothed, I sink into the tub that they graciously prepared and sigh out of relief from what the warm water is doing to my muscles.

_Oh, how I needed this._

Spas were never my thing but I can appreciate where their clientele came from. The calm I have is interrupted when the maids start to shove their hands in to bathe me. It turns into a struggle between us all to see who's stronger. Surprisingly, they're on par with me if not stronger. It's like fighting against girls of steel.

In the end, I had no choice but to succumb to the pampering or whatever you call this. The bath went quickly, thank goodness, and soon I'm outside toweling myself dry. When I look around for the clothes I left out when I came in I'm shocked to see they've disappeared. Everything but my knife is gone.

Turning to the maid that was still rummaging through the wardrobe, I cry out in a high pitched voice.

"Where are my things?

"We threw them away. Young lady Road's orders," she says nonchalantly.

_Fucking brat._

My head turns to the bed where the maid has already placed out a change of clothes…including underwear that couldn't be any scantier had a pro chosen them. And for some reason a single name comes to mind but I quickly dismiss that thought when I remember what had happened in the bathroom I just left.

_Don't be stupid again, Reina._

That's right. Whatever they do I have to look at it through a microscope. It's the best way I can think of to at least stay toe-to-toe with these freakish people.

But regardless of my tastes, I have to learn what I'm fighting up against. These people aren't human and they can do things that I can't begin to fathom. I know what Road— _Professor X—_ and Tyki— _Shadowcat—_ can do but there are still those that I saw the first day they brought me here that I haven't seen. It's wise to be afraid of the known as well as the unknown.

"Miss Pet, we'll go on ahead to dress you now." The maid's comment made me turn to her completely perplexed.

"Wait, dress me—" But before I could fight back or keep them away from me, their tiny crummy hands are harassing me to change into those clothes.

* * *

_Why do I feel like this?_

It was hard for Tyki to even fathom what the emotion that's piling at the bottom of his stomach could be. It's annoying and it's been bothering him ever since he came out of Reina's room.

 _After_ that little attempt to spook her…

_Maybe it's—_

No, don't even think it.

It's preposterous that he, Tyki Mikk, could even begin to feel _that_ when she was the one that provoked him. Reina was the one that cut him with that knife of hers. It's one thing that the knife actually harmed him—the attack itself took him by surprise which was most likely why his powers hadn't worked.

But the sight of someone fighting so vehemently against him made something in him boil with excitement, and that was something he couldn't have ignored. Especially when it had been the girl that always kept a straight face in the presence of danger.

It touched something in his dark side that just urged to see her fighting. It wanted to see her struggle, writhe, and suffer.

But then those emotions kindled something on his other side; a side that didn't want any of it. One that had seen just how careless that girl could be, enough to endanger herself for others. And one that felt that he needed to protect that reckless woman.

And it ticked him off how he was at war with himself about this, at least the two parts that consisted of his life.

One wanted her to strife against him; the other wanted to see her safe from harm.

_Well, shit, what's the matter with me?_

"Something wrong, Tyki?"

Road's voice snaps him out of the struggle his two sides were having to what's happening now. Because it's only _their_ family for dinner, Tyki knew that he could just let himself be and not be bothered by anybody. So far Sheril, the twins and Sweet Tooth had arrived and Road had said that Lulubell wouldn't be there. The Earl wasn't going to join them that evening for dinner either so there wasn't any pressure to wait for anybody.

_But besides them there's still one person missing._

"Nothing," he says with a finality while rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Wasn't she going to join us for dinner?"

"Maids were sent for it," Sheril answers before any of the rest can. "But whether it comes or not is its choice."

"Oh, pooch?" Road's voice rose an octave at asking about the family's new pet. "She'll come. I'm making her."

"Making her?" Tyki repeats a bit confused at her wording. He eyes his niece suspiciously from his place at the table. A single empty seat lays between him and that sugary smile of hers. "Why're you interested?"

"I'm not~" she confesses while playing around with the chair she's on, toppling it precariously on its hind legs. "I just really, really hate her~"

_Not good._

He knew it couldn't be because of anything good but it'd be better to know beforehand. "How so?"

"Just do. Ah!" Road stands on her chair and ganders behind the back of it towards the entrance. "Finally, we're starving here!"

"The maids you sent were the ones that took their sweet ass time!"

At hearing her, he turns on his chair to glance at the girl that he couldn't keep his mind away from. And despite the vulgar mouth of hers that had, for some reason, augmented here, she really hadn't changed much. Through the red blouse and paneled black skirt, he can still see the girl that holds a sharp tongue and hard head.

"Quit complaining—" Road quirks and points at the chair between them two before taking her own sit again. "And sit."

"No."

The answer's instant and with no hesitation.

_She's still sore about it?_

Despite having turned around on his chair already, he clearly hears the disdain in her voice with a tinge of fear. And although he relished in it there's still a part of him that didn't like it. For once he started to think that he might have gone a _little_ too far.

"It's an order. And you can't disobey~" Road sourly reminds her and he hears the click of her tongue.

Oh yeah, this is clearly hurting her ego. And her sanity.

The chair beside him creaks when she pulls it out for herself and takes a sit all the while determined to not glance at him.

_Definitely sore about it._

"Now that pooch is here—" Road cheers giddily while reaching out and patting Reina's head. "Let's eat!"

But all the while the dishes were being brought in, he couldn't keep away his eyes from the tight fist that Reina held back along with her sure desire to hit Road for that demining gesture.

_Oh boy, it's going to be a long dinner._

* * *

This is without a doubt the longest dinner of my life.

Forget meeting the other members of the freaking Adam's Family, I'm forced to endure it with Psycho Professor X and Murderous Shadowcat at either side of me. This is the worst dinner ever.

"So lil' kitty cat's our pet now?"

"Let's go drown kitty cat, heehee!"

These two so far are the most annoying duo I've ever met. Devit and Jasdero—or Jasdevi as they call themselves—are the teen twins of the family whom I'd cross paths with the first time I stumbled upon the white city.

Devit was an egotistical and eccentric boy who joked around and liked to infuriate everybody. Jasdero seems to be more of a follower of his brother and didn't seem harmful just annoying. The two of them together though is like dealing with two toddlers.

"Are kitty cats sweet?"

_And speaking of toddlers…_

Skin Boric is something beyond my comprehension. He's the giant that sucker punched me the first time we met with the twins. Besides the fact that I'm never going to live that down, he has a very unique thought process. Everything that comes out of his mouth is about hurting others or about sweets. And all throughout dinner he's eaten nothing but candy and cake.

This family will drive me crazy.

All the dumb questions that have implicated any humiliation or such I've been intent on avoiding which have been done mostly by the twins and big guy. Road, Sheril, and… _he_ have been quiet for most of the dinner.

It isn't until after dinner is done that Sheril starts talking about other matters. These are apparently some business that the family has been going through because the twins complain about it being discussed again. Skin isn't even mildly disturbed by it since I suppose he's not needed for it because, let's admit it, he ain't the sharpest tool in the shed.

The only ones listening if anything are Road and…Tyki.

God, I can't shake the awful feeling from before off of me. It's like a lingering pest. But the thing is that I need to get rid of this or I won't be able to work properly.

_Shake it off, Reina._

But it's hard when the images are still vivid and he's sitting right next to me. Damn Road for her stupid ass order. Swear to everything that I was about to punch the twat when she reminded me about having to follow their commands. It took a lot of my will power but I managed to sit back and just eat what I could stomach while sitting at a table with these people.

_But you have to._

"Is this about the Cristiano's again?" Road's sudden question calls me to attention when Sheril passes a set of files around to her and the others.

"Precisely," he replies with a sigh while looking at a copy.

"Why not just kill them and get it over with?" Devit suggests while giving the stink eye to the papers. Jasdero only agrees with his brother while he draws on the documents.

Sheril reprimands them about it quickly enough though. "Too much attention. Besides, an outside interference would not aide us in the least. We don't want a downfall, what is needed is war."

Too curious for my own good, I'm speaking before I can stop myself. "War?"

"To create Akuma!" Jasdero blurts out and gets a reproach from Devit.

"Dumbass, kitty cat ain't supposed to know!"

"Why not?" I keep pestering them; surely enough, one of them is bound to slip. And I am genuinely curious about this _Akuma;_ it sounds familiar but I can't pinpoint my finger on why.

"Because your human, mutt. Simple as that." Sheril's comment angers me because of the way he so quickly dismisses me.

_How the hell am I supposed to prove myself if they won't let me?_

"I could help. It's why I'm here for anyway," I reply although I can feel they weren't really expecting me to press on the matter.

"Not in this matter you won't." Sheril was quick to retort with a frown on his face and a glare that I match instantly. "This is task the Earl left us and we must do it."

"The only ones assigned were Tyki and you, right?" Devit asks tossing the papers aside nonchalantly and giving him a droll stare. "So why are we hearing about this too?"

"Tyki and Sheril suck at their jobs!" Jasdero inputs with a giggle.

"The Cristiano's have been a big influence in the country before the Kamelot's stepped into the picture," Road explains while eyeing the files inside with a bored look. "Kicking them off to war will be hard since they've always been the pacifist type."

"Like I said, just kill them off and it'll be done and over with!" Devit yells and Jasdero follows close behind with the insults. An argument quickly ensues against the three of them while the rest of us spectate.

_Really, they're like the monkeys trying to win over the last banana._

Both think they're smarter than the other and that just brings them down to a whole new level of stupidity. Really, if anything I could come up with at least _something_ to shut them up. Back with Mother, I used to sit in a lot of her planning and learned a thing or two. Not to mention that Seb got in the special tactics division and was a great strategist.

He kicked our ass in chess that's for sure.

The train of thought that I have is suddenly interrupted when a nudge comes to my elbow from the right. Having forgotten for a slight second, I glance down to it and see a file of the documents rather near to me.

This makes me glance up from them to the person who passed them along.

Tyki isn't meeting my sight, he's simply leaning on his palm rather bored about this while his other slides the file over to me. A glare passes over me that he catches on to and that finally makes him looks at me. He gives out a sigh and instead of answering my fury, he lightly taps the file twice with his finger before going back to lounging in the mist of the arguing.

My curiosity has always been a big thing about me, so it's hard to keep myself from not peeking. That's why I take the opportunity of their arguing to look inside of what Tyki gave me.

The Cristiano family was a very—how to put it—large family. The newly wed, Trevor Cristiano had ten children to accompany him after her wife's death and a new wife that gave him the title. He held the love of a whole country and an army that saw after him as he did them. For almost twenty years he has reigned over his capital and the people to give them everything they needed.

And they wanted to cause a war, why again?

It didn't make sense.

_Life seldom does._

True. Wars are always caused by selfish reasons more often than not and usually it's the victor who writes history. Who is to say that the Cristiano's didn't spill blood themselves to rise to the ranks? But then again, who says that this family of loons hasn't either.

But right at this moment, it is in my best interest to _help_ the loons if I wanted to comply with my self-preservation.

_That's a quick affirmative._

Yes, brain. Once again, we're on the same page.

And thankfully this scenario is something I've seen. It reminds me of a typical game of chess I would play with Sebastian. The mastermind of manipulation, he's the only one who was really any challenge against me when it came to mind games.

Particularly in chess.

" _It's all about the base, Reina. Just like a body stands upon the good foundation of your feet so do your pieces. In chess, it doesn't matter where you put your pawns, knights, or bishops. If the opponent can topple the base of your game, your king, then it's game over. Once the single foundation falls, everything falls in line with it."_

"It's a game of chess."

"What are you talking about?"

Sheril's sudden outburst bursts my bubble from the past and makes me face up from the papers I have in front of me. Suddenly, I'm self-conscious about everybody's staring at me including Tyki.

_Shit, I spoke aloud._

"I-It's just—" Really? I'm getting stutters now of all times? Fuck you, brain.

"You shouldn't have that. For the love of—Tyki, abstain from these absurdities. It can't help us," Sheril says reaching out for the papers ready to snatch them away from me.

Before he can though Tyki already has his fingers pressing the papers against the table and hinders his brother from taking them away. He holds the same blasé look in his eyes but a small grin forms on his lips. "But I believe she was about to say something. Why not let her? She is here for that, after all."

The spotlight suddenly shifts to me and makes my throat go dry.

Shit, my stage fright _._

_Just suck it up and do it, Reina._

Right.

Before it drowns me, I take a deep breath and continue on. "It's a game of chess."

"Chess?" Road asks with a coo to her voice. She tilts her head to the side like a lost puppy and asks again. "How so?"

"Well—" It's going to be hard to explain this but I have to do my best at it. Tyki just gave me an opportunity to prove myself useful and I'm not going to throw it away. "Think of it as a game—"

"Don't we always?" Devit interrupts rudely and knocks his fist with Jasdero.

This boils my blood and out of the blue, my hand grabs the spoon beside me and throws it between them. The clattering of the silverware follows the shocked faces of the two. I give them a glare before pointing something out first.

"Interrupt me again and it'll be something sharper I throw next." This shuts them up, if in bafflement or fear is up for debate but I couldn't care less.

_Assholes._

I give them one last pointed look before turning back to Sheril. "Like I was saying, if you look at this as a chess game then it's simple. Trevor Cristiano is the head of the family so he's the king. His family are the other main pieces while the rest consist of the pawns. The country would then be this—"

I grab the pen that Sheril was using and draw an upside-down triangle and divide it into pieces horizontally. "Politics have never been my thing but I've heard it's always a thing of depleting numbers in war. It's always something like 'leave them vulnerable so take away the people that protect them' thing."

"If you're saying for us to kill of armies then you're wasting my time," Sheril quickly interrupts me. Too bad I can't throw shit at him. "It's been done and they keep coming strong with their idiotic views. So if you have a point, make it and it better be good, mutt."

_Well, excuse me._

But he caught me, I'll give him that. I've been trying to stall by thinking this through as I explain it but now I have to hit my point before he kicks me out and I lose my chance.

_Just throw it out there, Reina._

"Leave the king alone."

"What?" This time it isn't just Sheril but also Tyki and Devit who spoke while Jasdero, Skin and Road stare in anticipation.

_War for dummies. I'd win millions if I publish a book like that here._

Concentrate and explain, Rei. That's all you've gotta do.

"Like you said, depleting their armies won't do jack to them. Soldiers have always been a dispensable asset to countries. They have the nasty mentally that they can always get more. Frankly, though, this seems to be the case here."

I go back to my drawing and instead circle the pinnacle that holds the whole system in balance. "If you can rid them of the base, they'll be like headless chickens running around. People are like sheep, they follow. But they're not stupid either; they follow one who's more capable than them. One who they can assure can carry them through with the least amount of causalities. In short, it's a matter of security."

A big circle is what I draw around the top and biggest part of the upside-down pyramid. "If you take away that security then they won't follow and the country will be left without an army."

"Killing Cristiano won't work," Road points out. "He's their safe haven but killing him will bring too much attention. It won't do, pooch."

"I'm not talking about killing _him_. I'm talking about killing his trust in others."

The room falls silent at this as if trying to suck in what I just told them.

_Uploading…_

Sheril's the first to finish. "And how pray tell would we do that?"

_Download complete._

It's easy to answer Sheril's questions now that I have my ducks in a row so I continue with my train of thought while I still have it. "Make him believe those closest to him are betraying him."

"Planting mistrust on his generals won't do either," Sheril adds.

"I said _closest_ ," I repeat with a clear emphasis on that last part.

"And who's closest than family."Road seems to be the first one to finally follow my thought.

"Family?" Devit asks a bit intrigued apparently by how my mind's working this problem out.

"Exactly. Get him to distrust his family, his wife, sons, and daughters, and he'll fall into a pit of quick sand. Once he loses the ability to trust his family he won't trust anybody and only sink himself further. A man who can't trust believes everybody's out to get him and will be prone to rash and stupid decisions. Say, like going into war despite being a renowned pacifist."

"Distrust in the family, huh?" Sheril repeats, speculating the suggestion.

"Family is something that isn't easily broken but once it is there's seldom anything that can repair it," I say as my final thought and lay back on my chair as I close the file. "If that doesn't work, I don't know what will."

"Sounds well thought out," Road compliments but it just sends chills down my spine. It's easy to see she didn't mean those words but I simply avert my gaze as she speaks. "What do you think, father?"

A few minutes of silence fall as he reviews the information he has and the plan I just gave them. "Very well, we will resort to this plan of yours and see how it plays. Murder would be too much implication in our part so we'll take it as a last resort for now."

_Great._

The sarcasm can't flow thick enough out of that one thought. The reason being because I just gave out a mass murderer a plan to possibly create war. It's just like being with Mother Noir again.

"Don't feel _too_ down, pooch," Road coos with a smile while leaning on the table to glance at me. "This'll tally on to your life count~"

_Whippy-fucking-doo._

It's then that we're dismissed from the table and we all start heading our different ways. A hand on my forearm makes me turnabout and freeze at seeing who had stopped me.

"W-What do you want…" The venom couldn't have been spat out more vehemently from me had I tried. Tyki doesn't seem fazed about it though.

"A thank you would be mildly appreciated."

_What. Did he just. Say?_

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me?"

"I'm not."

This fucking bastard. "After what _you_ did, I should be the one to get an _apology_!" My voice isn't loud but the hiss gives a bit of the fraction of how livid I am at him.

"You're still mad about that? Look I was just—"

"Mad?!" My voice finally raises an octave when I interrupt him. The balls on this one…! "I'm not mad, you ass, I'm furious!"

"Same—"

"Finish that and I'll kick you so hard in the crotch that your voice will rise a pitch."

The threat isn't taken seriously but it doesn't go ignored. "You're not scared anymore, I see."

_Yeah, I am._

But fuck fear.

I ain't nobody's bitch and fear won't be the first.

But he is slightly correct. A smidge, really. Had he not given me those papers, I wouldn't have come up with that plan.

_A smidge, really?_

Okay, maybe more than a smidge but that didn't change the fact that he almost killed me. But if I want to cohabit with these people I'd have to guess that something like that would come every day. I might as well get accustomed to fending myself against it.

"No, I'm not scared anymore but I am furious with you. This helped me and it might have been because of you but it hasn't covered for what you almost did."

"It isn't a big deal."

"Almost killing me isn't a big deal!?"

He puts his hand over my mouth to keep my rising voice muffled while holding my arm with the other. "Keep it down."

"Fuck off," I cuss even louder so that it'll go through his hand.

"What do you want from me?"

"An a-po-lo-gy!" I emphasize each word to make my point across. He cringes at the prospect of that and turns his head away from me. And then it occurs to me how I can wiggle it out of him. "What, are you not man enough to cough up a meager 'sorry'?"

That hits home because he turns with an annoyed look and forced smirk on his face. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me!"

He covers my mouth and sighs before looking me in the eye. "I'm…."

My hand comes up to his and removes it from my mouth. "I can't hear you!"

"Would you be quiet!?" he hisses before I wriggle my way out of his grip.

"Say it, you coward!" I say loud enough for him to hear but not enough for anybody else. "You big baby! You're nothing more than a scared little pus—"

"I said I'm sorry, you obnoxious brat!" he finally yells tired of my bullying.

"Ha!" I burst out in a stupid, boasting grin that mimics his usual one. "Made ya say it."

"You little—" he groans while grabbing me by the crown of my head as if threatening to head bump me like he's done before when I really annoyed him.

This remains me of how we're usually with Eeze and the others and it seems he gets the same idea because he swiftly lets me go and we stand a few feet from one another. It's clear that he isn't comfortable being like that when he's in this place but it's seems to be more natural than this aristocrat crap he plays along with.

At least to me it looks that way.

A smile creeps on my lips at noticing that despite how much of a psycho he can be, there's also a part of him that still remains the same.

The one of the man I've grown accustomed to.

_He's still there._

"I still haven't forgiven you," I clearly state and that just seems to tick him off even more but it makes me smile for some reason. "But it's a start." I turn to go and simply bid him a good night before I leave towards the room that isn't too far away.

* * *

A few days go by that I'm left in my room for most of the day with nothing to do except go to the dining room to eat my meals. It's not until the third that I get ambushed by the maids again and this time Tyki's with them.

"What now?" I ask as they change me in the bathroom and Tyki remains in the bedroom. "Another dinner?"

"The Earl wants to speak to you," he simply answers. It's a fast change of clothes since I'm getting used to their harassment by now. I'm out the door with Tyki leading the way before I know it.

We're standing before a normal door like any other and we both go through before any more time passes. Once we go into the room the first thing I notice is how dark it is but that doesn't seem to bother the Earl who sits in a chair knitting away.

That same stupid grin sits on his face along with the dumb hat. He hasn't really changed much since I saw him the first time.

"Sheril told me about your little feat during dinner the other night," he says without any dallying and that's fantastic. I hate beating around the bush too. "Quite a little stunt, on both your ends."

So, that's why he's here too.

_He's getting scolded._

"Millennium Earl, I just—"

"No need for excuses," he quickly interjects. "I'm not mad. At least not this time. But do refrain from this ever happening again, Tyki-pyon."

"Yes."

_Damn, and I thought I was a leashed dog._

"And for you pooch—"

_Speaking of…_

"You're little idea seems to have been of some help to Sheril's troubles, so for now I'll let you live another day. But don't go around playing your little tricks again or it won't count. Are we clear?"

"I suppose," I reply loud enough for him to hear me.

"When you speak to me, it's a yes or no, pooch. Understood?"

 _Fuck, he's_ exactly _like Mother Noir._

"Yes." This only assures me that I mustn't go against him or he will keep to the promises that Noir never could.

"For now, since Sheril won't be able to attend, you will go in his stead to the ball to accompany Road," he informs me and I can't help but be shocked.

_A ball?_

"A ball, but I—"

"No back talking." His voice didn't rise but his tone changes and that's enough to send a forewarning in me. "Now you will do as you're told and cause no ruckus during this event."

That's enough for me but it's hard to keep quiet about something as stupid as that. But I have no choice. "Yes, Millennium Earl."

"Good girl," the compliment sickens me but I gulp down the insults that threaten to come out of my throat. Tyki excuses us and starts to get us out but not fast enough before the fatso speaks again. "Remember, I don't even want to hear a word of you acting out. A pooch should learn to follow orders. And if you don't…off to the chopping block you go."

_W-What..?_

"You bastard…" the murmured insult is out of my mouth before I can keep it in and my hand's already on my butterfly knife that's on my waist before I can hold myself back.

Yet a large enough hand covers mine over the knife and keeps me from pulling it completely out.

"Don't," Tyki quietly whispers in my ear. "He's baiting you."

Road's sudden giggling comes over my head snapping me out of my angry stupor and I glance over my shoulder to see her clinging onto the Earl's neck as they start chatting.

He completely ignored me. It's clear now what Tyki means by that warning. He doesn't see me as a threat…only a vermin he'd be glad to get rid of. And by baiting me to attack him, he'll have the pleasure of killing me himself.

But I can't fall for it again. I won't. He may see me as a mere lapdog but he's wrong. I'm a full grown tigress.

_And this tigress lies low not from fear but for aim._


	12. Chapter 12

_**Twelve** _

**Why Would You Change Me**

* * *

 

This place feels more and more like a prison with every passing day.

A week has passed by maybe but the mornings and nights have started to bleed into one another and I've lost track of time. The only times that I can go out are when those pesky maids come and go from the room to take me to dinner.

Sometimes I eat with some members of the family like the ones I met before; sometimes all of the ones I knew and others. It's either one or the other. But most times I would eat alone while under surveillance by those girls. Once I promptly finished my food, they would take me back to the room and leave me be.

The lost time I've spent exploring my room but that adventure quickly died out when I looked over every nook and cranny in that room after only a day and a half. And soon boredom set in pretty quickly.

_They're going to drive me crazy in here!_

But as I lay on the carpeted floor trying to entertain myself by recounting the lines on the ceiling, I can't help but lose my mind to the utter boredom that I'm feeling.

"I have to get out of here."

Forget escaping. I just need to see something other than these four decadent walls.

_But you might get in trouble._

True, but I say it's worth the risk. It's either that or die of complete tedium. So instead of succumbing to that quick sand feeling, I get up from my languid position and decide to change before heading out.

Because they don't wish to see me in 'commoner's clothes', Sheril has given me a wardrobe full of clothes that oddly enough fit perfectly. I keep expecting to find just one blouse, skirt, or dress that won't fit but so far there's been no luck. It's creepy really that he got my numbers down to a T. Then again, I won't complain about being given clothes. So I choose a simple one piece dress; the skirt barely reaches a few inches above my knees and it has a neat deep, empty oval neck that lets the deep blue lace blouse's frills peek out. The short sleeves of it are quite a relief since the long ones are too stuffy for my taste. A petticoat underneath lifts the skirts of the gray dress to a nice puff.

I've always liked dressing up but I've never known what kind of clothes to wear. Eventually I gave up the notion that I would ever enjoy looking at myself in the mirror and being entranced at what a nice fitted outfit, make-up and hairdo could do with me.

But now with this, it's a little more approachable although it's not really welcomed from the people who gave it to me.

The last thing that I deal with is my hair. Ever since I landed in this place—world, in general— I haven't had a haircut. When I first came to, my hair was still barely touching my shoulders. Now after about a year, it's almost grown to the middle of my back. It grows stupidly fast for some reason. Now that it's longer, the waves in my hair are more prominent as curls and give more volume to it but at the same time are even harder to maintain.

All I do for now is pin some up into a half ponytail while letting the rest fall over my left shoulder. As a last touch, I pocket my knife in the neck of my dress. Once readied and done, I come up to the door and try the first thing that comes to my mind. And of course, the door isn't open.

_Had to try it._

Opening it wouldn't be hard if I actually had something to pick at it with. My eyes scan around the room as I bite my lip nervously. They finally land on a few bobby pins that I had taken out of one of my pockets before my old clothes were thrown out.

_That's something._

Once I have them and I start picking at the lock, I have it unlocked within a few minutes. Okay, one obstacle down a few more to go. Before I even open the door, I check underneath to see if any people are passing by. After a few minutes of silence, I deem it solitary enough to go out unnoticed. I'm a little worried about leaving since the maids tend to come in unannounced to take me to eat.

A glance at the clock in the room reassures me that I have about five hours to kill before they come even close to barging in. So if I come back before then, I won't be outed by them. With my determination to escape this monotonous room, I slowly creak the door open a few inches to look and make sure there's no one outside.

Once that's done, I venture out and click the door slowly closed before quietly yet quickly moving my way across the mansion. First I head towards a way that's a bit familiar, the one that the maids take me to reach the dining hall. But before the last turn that would have sent me there, I take the opposite side and go through it instead.

What follows are halls full of portraits and art pieces with numerous doors that are locked. It's starting to look like I risked my skin for nothing.

The sudden tingling of a bell takes my attention and almost gives me a heart attack. When I turn, all I find behind me is a black cat with a red ribbon and a bell attached— _again?_ I've seen this cat before, haven't I?

It meows and trots over to me. Not wanting to call attention to myself, I try shooing it away but it won't go. "Damn it, puss!" I hiss under my breath and finally shove it away with my foot under its belly. I must've actually hit something sensitive because it jumped back while hissing quite loudly. A cringe comes out of me because of what I caused it but I can't get caught now because of a stupid cat. "Go away!" I finally hiss and walk away from it and check other doors.

The ones that finally lead me somewhere interesting are almost at the end of the East Wing. The huge double doors that I have a bit of trouble opening lead me into a huge library. If I didn't know better I'd think I just stepped into Beauty and the Beast because it was an almost identical replica of that library.

From my knowledge of what I've overheard the maids say, Sheril Kamelot is a Minister in this country and the title comes with hefty prize money. Not only that but Tricia Kamelot also held a large inheritance before she married so the family was actually quite prosperous. Such huge amounts of money can explain the large collection of books.

But this was heaven to me really. Books were always a way to pass time that I truly enjoyed. They allowed me to escape from my reality into worlds of fantasy and adventure. During my early years of therapy and even now sometimes, they are important pillars that sustain my fractured psyche.

Still in awe, I gander around the nearest shelf. There's not only non-fiction here but also many books on history, economics, and politics. Truly, it's to be expected since Sheril's a minister. But those are the books that interest me the least. My feet trot over to the small alcove that hides a cavern of books. At skimming some, I note that I'm in the right place.

_Fiction._

But I wonder what kind of books they publish in this world. I'm sure I won't find anything about Harry Potter or Percy Jackson but it's pretty diverse for this age. My fingers linger at the rough backs of each book as if inspecting the inside through the cover. The scent of old paper and wood wafts into my nostrils like a heaven sent aroma.

Yeah, this is truly my place to be.

The sudden noise I hear behind me though breaks me out of my trance. When I jump back, all I see are some books that fall from the desk that isn't too far away from me and on the desk where the books were is the same black cat from before.

"God damn it," I hiss under my breath and glare at the nasty thing.

Cats aren't my thing. They hate me and I can't say the feeling's not mutual. It sits at the desk and simply stares at me with its gold eyes. It's unnerving really but I try to ignore it.

"What part of 'go away' did your minute brain not understand, you nasty feline," I groan at it but it only seems to ignore me. Tired of it, I come up and kick the leg of the desk to make it shake. At feeling it the cat jumps off and turns the corner of a shelf. "Dumb puss."

On the other side, I hear the cat briefly hiss and the patting of its feet as it goes away.

_Finally, some peace and quiet._

But it's not actually peaceful…or quiet. The instant I turn my back after the sound disappears, a new one comes and this one rattles me to the core. It's a louder growling. Like an 'I'm hungry' kind of growl I'd here in Animal Planet.

My feet slowly turn me around to find what I'm dreading. Behind me just moving out of its place from behind the same shelf, is a large black panther. It growls and bares it teeth at me as it slowly stalks its way towards me.

_Shit._

"Nice kitty."

It growls again before roaring. The loudness of it makes me jump back and try to keep my distance from it as it approaches. "Okay, not kitty. Big, angry panther." I try to reach my hand out in front of it to keep it from coming any closer, not like it'd do much.

But the thing won't stop coming any closer and I'm running out of space to back out of. Soon enough when I take another step, there's nothing but a shelf of books behind me and I press my back as close as I can. The panther won't back down though and it's only a few feet away.

There's no close turn that I can take to avoid the thing if it attacks me. And I'm no match for a panther even with my skills. My knife won't work at close combats with something that was born to hunt. There are no options out of this.

I'm trapped.

_Someone…_

Out of nowhere, the hard shelf that's behind me changes and instead I feel something taut and warm on my back. An arm comes around my waist and holds me closer while my hands grab ahold preferring the stranger's hand to the panther's killer claws.

"Whoa, Lulu—" That low timbre and husky voice is something I can never mistake now. Tyki's large hand keeps mine at my side while his other keeps an open palm out to stop the panther. "What's happening here?"

"Lulu?" my voice comes out as a barely audible whisper at the name. The panther in front of us suddenly goes into the shadow that's cast before the shelf. Because of its dark fur, it's completely engulfed in the darkness and neither of us can see it.

Until it speaks.

"It's out of its cage." The silk voice that replies is smooth and silvery, unlike any woman I've heard before. But the iciness of it just doesn't do it justice. It's so clear and nice but the monotonous tone just kills it.

The woman that spoke walks out of the shadows and just like her voice, she's beautiful. Tricia's beauty that I thought I'd seen dulls in comparison to this woman's. Her porcelain skin glows in the afternoon light that's let in through the windows. Her eyes despite not being able to see them through her shades give me a heavy impression. Her silky blonde hair tied to the side with a gorgeous golden sheen. And despite not wearing a dress like most woman I've seen so far, she's attired in a nice dress suit that fits the contour of her body.

In short, any woman pales in comparison to her.

_Including me._

For some reason that just made me a little self-conscious. The woman didn't look any older than me but she definitely seemed like something that didn't belong.

This whole awe with her aesthetics completely throws me off from the fact that she just referred to me as an 'it'. And the fact that she just called me out for escaping my room.

How though? Besides the fact that I'm out of my room, she couldn't have known it wasn't because I was called for or something. She would have needed to have seen me come out—

But someone _did_ see me come out.

_The cat?_

It's not that far-fetched, especially because she not only transformed into a panther but also into the woman that I'm seeing right now in a matter of seconds.

"Was there any need for the panther?" Tyki asks and brings me back to the matter at hand once again.

"I was assuring that it didn't escape." Her hands reaches up to her hair and starts to nonchalantly brush her fingers through it. "I was already on my way to alert the Master when it harassed me. What you saw was merely in my defense."

"Liar!" I hiss under my breath but Tyki's hand quickly comes over my mouth to restrain me from speaking any further. My hands come up and try to pry his off me but he's adamant on keeping me quiet.

"She wasn't out of line, Lulubell," Tyki assures her one last time. "I called for her. The maids must have left her here by herself."

"Is that so?" Lulubell's tone couldn't have been more monotonous but I could still hear the disbelief in it. She doesn't believe him.

"Yes. So you see, there's no need to alert the Earl." This seems to calm her enthusiastic—if you can call it that—attempt to snitch me out.

"Very well," she finally appeases us with that reply and walks off. Once the sound of the doubles doors closing is heard, we both heave a sigh of relief as he lets his hand fall from my face.

But before I can get any peace out of this, a huge hand smacks me upside the head. Grabbing it from the pain, I turn with a glare to Tyki who'd just bodily harmed me.

"What the hell was that for?" I hiss while rubbing the area he just smacked.

"You got out of your room," he replies in a contained whisper while he rubs the bridge of his nose. "Have you any idea what would have happened had Lulubell told about you escaping?"

"Chop, chop, chop," I mutter knowing well what the consequences were. He didn't hear me though and groans from his frustration. Now I know I have to defend myself. "What do you expect anyway? That I would sit patiently until any one of you called on me like a lapdog? Fuck that. If you're going to cage me, at least give me something to entertain myself with."

"Why didn't you just say that?" he protests.

"To whom?!" I screech tired of how oblivious he is to my situation. "Nobody besides you talks to me! No one else cares!" Once that's vented out, I cross my arms over my chest and turn around to keep from facing him. Seriously, the nerve he has sometimes just pushes me over the edge so damn fast.

And yet he's the only one that talks normally to me like when we used to live with the others.

_I miss them._

It's been only a week or so but I'm already sick and tired of this place. I just want to go back to them and forget this ever happened. I want to go back to Eeze, Momo, and Clark. I just want Tyki back with us. The one that actually cares.

_He cares now, too. Doesn't he?_

Does he?

I don't even know anymore.

"It must be hard after living with me and the guys for almost a year. You got used to that, didn't you?" His voice somehow lost that politeness that he uses in this place and it just reminds me of before that much more.

"I want to go back," I murmur like a sulking child.

His hand comes over and rests on my head. It's a reassuring gesture that he not only did on Eeze but had started doing on me too. "I know. It's stuffy, this kind of job, and it does get kind of overwhelming sometimes. Keeping this apart from that is hard as it is, too."

That one sentence brings a very peculiar thought to mind. I spin on my heels to face him and I'm not expecting him to be so close but the thought doesn't go away. "Why haven't you told them about this?"

"Are you seriously asking me this?" he asks in disbelief and I can see where he's coming from. If they knew, they would think him crazy or just flat out don't believe him.

"I guess, you've got a point but what do you even do here?" I ask trying to wiggle as much information as I can to understand what this whole thing with the Earl and this family is about.

"Whatever the Earl tells us," he says while taking out a cigarette to put it between his teeth but abstaining from lighting it.

But I'm more stubborn than that if he thinks he'll shut me up with just that answer. "Like what? Certainly those freaky powers you all have aren't just for show."

"We kill."

A wry smile comes up to my lips at that. "You can't be serious?" But the stoicism in his doesn't disappear.

_Oh._

That shuts me up.

Why am I even surprised really? He almost killed me that day in the bathroom. Road hates me with a passion enough that she wanted to leave me mentally sick. For goodness sake, Lulubell just tried to have me her dinner and lied through her teeth to get away with it!

"But if you have such extravagances here, why spend your time with the others?" I inquire wanting to change the topic but not really expecting him to answer now.

"Simple. It's boring having just one."

_Boring?_

The moment I voice that thought he only shrugs and finally lights his cigarette. "Only being here or there would be too boring for me. This job is fun but it's too much sometimes. Over with them is quite peaceful and nice but it gets bothersome very easily. By keeping both, I can enjoy both and never have a dull life again."

"So living with us is just a game?"

"Not entirely. But think what you want," he replies and blows a puff of smoke up into the ceiling.

"You're such a dick."

"So I've been told."

My insults don't faze him. They've never really done anything besides fuel my own anger. It's just a game for him. Everything is.

_Including those times after the kiss in the hospital._

He never took me seriously.

I've never doubted that I have a shitty taste for men. The first boyfriend and serious relationship I ever had turned out to be with my foster brother. And now I can't believe that I let myself even feel a tinge of anything for this man.

Yet something in me can't help itself. In this deep madness there's only a tiny spark of familiarity and it comes from him. The sanity I still have left is connected to the people I know and am close to. And for now the only one that fits that criteria is him.

But the more I'm with him the more I feel this alluring sensation that won't go away. Whatever he is, it's pulling me close with sharpened claws that dig into me. It hurts but I can't see myself being set free…or letting go.

_I'm a masochist._

That would explain the tendencies Jaden and I had during our intimacy…and why I'm still talking to this guy that has killed and tried to kill me before.

"Fuck…"

"What's with you now?"

"Just speculating why I'm as fucked up as I am. No answer yet, just wondering." A heavy sigh escapes me and I step back until I hit the shelf behind me. Once there, I let the heaviness of the world push me down until I slide to a seat. "How long have you been doing this?"

"A while."

"Can't you give me a plain answer?"

"Can't you ask me plain questions?" he toys around with me like I'm a child. "Really, there's no other way I'll answer you."

Another sigh escapes me and this one just makes this situation that much heavier on me. "Why where you even here then? In the library..."

"To run away."

This one answer makes me lift my head up enough to catch the sight of him. Tyki's no longer glancing my way but instead has put his cigarette out and is glancing through the backbones of each book as if searching for one that might pique his interest.

He's so nonchalant about the answer he just gave but I couldn't be more confused. "Run…away?"

"The ball's tomorrow, remember?" he says still not meeting my eyes but instead pulls out a book and starts skimming through it just to keep occupied. "Those types of things are the ones that I loathe most. They're tiresome beyond measure."

"It's just a dance, isn't it?"

"It's more of a social gathering, for adults mind you," he replies while turning pages.

 _Adults_?

"Why is Road going then?"

"She's technically not allowed, only those who have been introduced to society can. But since she loves watching from the balconies, the Earl and Sheril let her attend. She still gets easily bored though." I'm about to open my mouth when he speaks up again. "And yes, more than me."

"How did you—"

"I'm getting used to your incessant questions. Might as well try to answer as many as I can to safe my breath."

"You're a bigger asshole than I thought."

"Can you blame me?"

"Absolutely."

He scoffs and a smile forms on his face. "Pity."

We're talking so effortlessly that for a second there I forget what we started out the conversation with. I've noticed that he can do that. It eludes me if it's him being manipulative or if I just get that relaxed around him. For whatever reason, though, we always come back to this calm respite.

It's nice to have someone to talk this easily with…even if he's a psycho.

_The whole family is, Reina. Get over it already._

You're asking for a pretty hard thing, brain. But believe me, it's not because of lack of trying. The turning of pages make me look up from my wallowing hole to Tyki who's still leaning back against the shelf and reading the book he got.

I've never seen him so pensive like that. His features calm and relaxed. Does talking to me do the same to him as it does to me? Or is it the book…?

To proof myself right, I have to give him leisure to ask for my question. If he answers then I'm right but if he ignores me then it's the book. "Say…"

"Mm."

_Huh._

Curious. I'm not really prepared with a question so I ask the first thing that comes to my head. "What are you reading?"

"A book."

 _Smartass_.

"I'm asking for a title, at least a synopsis. Throw me a bone here."

This unintended pun makes him crack a small smile and that just lets the feint sign of one on my lips. "Not much to tell so far that interests me. I might put it down."

This sentence piques mine, though, and makes me stand up from my pit of wallow and come up to stand before him with another question in mind. "What types do you like?"

"Types?" This time he ganders up from the pages to stare at me, the word having spilt from his lips with a melodic tone almost. He snaps the book closed and a mischievous smirk appears on his features as he sets it down on a nearby desk. "Well, I do like them nice and full. Curves are my thing. Nice long hair is pretty good too; gives me something to grab onto when doing some _things._ "

The more he talks the more steps he starts taking towards me which aren't many as it is. When I start feeling him breaking my personal bubble, I take my steps back. It's not until my back hits against the shelf again that he traps me. He's just a few feet away and he keeps talking while slowly closing in on me.

"A definite favorite are a lovely set of lips." He licks his own for emphasis and I can't keep my eyes away from his every detailed action. My throat starts to run dry with every description he's giving.

_He's not talking about books, Reina._

Yeah, I think that ship sailed off the moment that smirk of his appeared. But I'm unable to move on my own seeing as I'm too focused on what he's saying to watch out for anything else. His hands move to either side of me, placed right by my waist but not close enough to touch.

This is torture.

The smirk that he has only grows at watching my face. I must be beet red by now. This always happened with Jade too. His stupid flirting did this to me as well. There's no way to control my blood as it rushes to my face and despite my skin being not so fair, one can still see the tint of red that brushes against my cheeks and ears.

With this quite apparent, he leans in and bends down enough so that his face is right next to my ear but he's not stopping there. He keeps leaning in. Knowing how damaging any more proximity could be, I finally raise my hands and clutch them tightly on his chest to keep him from leaning in any closer.

And he stops. His lips are so close to my ear and neck that I can feel the hot air he exhales every time he breathes out. The warm sensation makes me shiver slightly every time and it soon starts to pool in me.

And it only gets worse when I feel one of his hands playing with the hem of my skirt. He plays around with it, his fingers barely brushing against my exposed thigh, until they actually touch me. And that it's just the tip of his fingers brushing slightly up and down just kills me.

What is he trying to do…?

_Break me._

"And you know what I _love_ the most…?" This time his lips are closer than ever and I actually feel them as they graze my lobe.

But that's just a distraction. Once I can focus again, I feel his hands are even deeper in my skirt, trailing up my outer thigh until they reach the hem of my lingerie. The instant he slips a finger underneath and touches my bare hips, my breath catches and the hold I have on his chest tightens as a very familiar sensation makes me shudder as it rakes through me.

"When I can make them sing _sweet_ tunes."

_God…damn._

When I can finally do something after the fact, I push him away to give myself a few feet of privacy again. But the deed is done and I can't believe I just came from his mere teasing.

"You...asshole." I'm slightly panting from that and it just makes me that much more embarrassed that he was able to toy with me so easily.

He scoffs and lifts his hand up to his lips and licks the finger he barely touched me with. "Wonder how many times I can make _that_ happen again with a bed?"

"Fuck you, tramp," I hiss with a glare and straighten my clothes before storming away. I can't stay in here with him anymore.

Besides…I need to shower. His toying with me just wasn't enough but I'm tempted to restrain from doing it because I'm sure if I do all I'll imagine is his hands all over me and his voice just begging me to come undone.

_God, I need a cold shower._

_Now._

* * *

After the shower and all during dinner, I'm left to wonder how the hell I'm supposed to spend my time without dying of boredom first. I'm tempted to go out again but with what just happened a few hours ago that thought quickly dies off.

When I come back to my room, though, the thought is quelled by the sight that's before me. Atop my bed are a small stack of thick books and lying on them is a handwritten note. Coming up close and picking it up, I read the message.

_**For your boredom.** _

It's short and bland but when I glance down at the books—romance, mystery, and crime novels—I can't help but smile.

_He might be a dick…but he's a considerate dick._

The rest of the night, I spend it reading the romance one and can't help but thank him in my head for alleviating this one plight in the mess of a life I have now.

* * *

The day of the ball comes the next morning and it seems to be a preparation of the whole day.

The maids came in earlier than before and gave me an even more thorough bath than prior days. Needless to say that by now I've gotten used to them so I just let them do what they want. It's faster and easier on both our sides if I don't struggle much. And once more I have breakfast alone but it's not much of a bother now.

When I get back to my room though the process continues. The maids spend hours—all through lunch too while I ate—trying to find an appropriate gown for the event and it's tiring me out how they're fixating over simple attire. It's not until another maid comes in with another gown and tells the others something that they finally stop.

Apparently the one that they've decided on is one that Road chose herself.

_Shit._

I just hope it's all right. But when the maids bring it out to start putting it on me that I actually see it's not bad at all.

"We'll start preparing you now, Miss Pet," one of the maids tells me.

"Now?" My head turns up to the clock in my room that marks the time. The ball doesn't start until another three hours. "Isn't it early?"

"We are actually behind schedule so cooperate." That's the last she said before they attack me with everything they have. It isn't until a couple of hours later that I can finally breathe. "Mistress Road will be pleased. We're done before scheduled." She turns to the others and ushers them out before turning to me. "You are ready to go. You are assigned to wait until the time arrives to leave." After that she swiftly leaves after the others.

This leaves me alone to contemplate on the gown that now dresses me.

It has a nice color scheme of reds and details in gold. The neckline hugs my back barely over my shoulders and drapes over my chest just above my breasts and the corset that lies underneath. The center of it is decorated with a fabric rose while the necklace is decorated with zigzags of small gold beads that shine in the gaslight.

A sash comes from the rose and crosses diagonally towards the back of my hips. A neat sash of red goes over my skirt as part of the dress and is pinned up to the side of my hip with another rose. Another set of gold beads comes straight across, following the shape the fold of the sash has. A last detailing of faint gold rings shows when the light hits it over the front of my skirt.

My shoes are quite comfortable despite being heeled. And the fact that my necklace fits well with the attire is odd. I'd expect that because of the gleaming butterfly gem that it'd be weird but the gold chain and the amethyst hue give it a very ethereal look.

The first hour and a half was taken by putting this dress on me. The other hour were to style my hair and put some make-up on me. Luckily, my hair was so unruly at this length that they had to make due with a simple bun that rests on the nape of my neck with some strands of it coming out in front. The make-up is light as well, just some blush, eye-shadow, and peach lipstick.

Overall, the look I have now isn't half bad. I actually look quite attractive if I dare say so myself. But I'm guessing it's just because of what they managed to do with me. And I have to grudgingly admit that Road has some taste too.

It's some twenty minutes later that the maids finally reappear, this time they're accompanied by Lulubell who's dressed in a dress that is a bit more simple but does miracles on her appearance if that's even possible.

Without a single word spoken, she escorts me out to the second floor where Road and Sheril are already waiting for us outside of Road's room.

"You're late, pooch!" The girl that I haven't seen since a week ago has fair skin and dark eyes today. Her attire consists of a pretty dress of pastel pinks and lilacs. Her hair is held down by a matching hair band and nice heeled shoes as well. Her nasty personality is the only thing that hasn't changed, regrettably.

In her hands, she holds a rather odd umbrella. It's pink with a pumpkin head on the end. She twirls it around in her hand while she fumes at us being— _huh?_

"Late?" I repeat not understanding. "I was finished before time."

"Was it you then, Lulu?" Road asks but sighs in the end and swings the umbrella around. A sudden shriek comes to my ears but I ignore it when Road starts speaking again. "Doesn't matter. We need to hurry! We're going to be late at this rate!"

"Yes," is all Lulubell answers and we stand beside the brat.

"Have a nice night, darling," Sheril coos to her daughter in a mighty sickening way. He just creeps me out regardless of what he's doing. I'm biased that way.

"Bye, father!" she calls back and takes me by the wrist and drags me towards the foyer and from there to the top floors over the ballroom. This event is being held by the Kamelot family but the main guests—and apparent target—are the Monroe family.

To my knowledge, the Monroe family is another set of aristocrats that rank high up there with Sheril and his family. And to what I heard, they're friends of the Cristiano's too which I've also heard have come to trouble since the last time the media spoke to him.

I don't want to know more about that knowing that there could be a possibility that I'm involved with that disturbance. But as we enter the balcony that Road goes in and we overlook the ball that has already started, I can't help but stare in awe at what's below.

The ballroom that I've never seen before is littered with hundreds of people all dressed for the occasion. From up here, they look like tiny fancy ants. The thought makes me chuckle but that's quickly lost when I spot someone familiar in the crowd.

There on the floor, Tyki's talking to some men when a set of young women approach him. He's all smiles and charisma and it just turns my stomach for some reason. Even from up here I can see how fake his smile is.

_Poor boy._

But let him suffer. It's karma for what he did to me at the library.

"Tyki's looking fly as always," Road mentions while glancing down at the crowd and particularly at her uncle. She toys with her hair with one hand and holds the closed umbrella over her shoulder with the other while she watches. "It's always the same. He's been a lady's man ever since he started attending these events. Great asset, really."

"Asset?"

"He is on a mission from father and the Earl," Road replies to my question. She chuckles at remembering something that she's quick to mention. "Tyki hates these events. Too stuffy, he says. But it's fun to watch him dangle woman around him like puppets."

The orchestra that's playing in the background takes my attention when I recognize one of the few classical songs I know but can't remember the name of. My eyes go down to the people until I spot a gentleman that's surrounded with as many women as Tyki is if not more.

"And that's the target."

Road's sudden comment makes me turn to her and it catches me by surprise that she's staring straight at me with a mischievous grin. "Target?"

"For his mission~" she coos and goes back to gawk at the crowd. She spends a few minutes silent before she speaks again. "Lulu, mind getting me something to eat? I'm famished."

"Dinner already?" she asks a bit incredulous.

"Skipped lunch." That's all Road has to say to get Lulubell to rise from her sit and go on outside.

It's once the shape shifter is out of earshot that Road speaks again. "His name is Elijah Monroe. The oldest son of the family. Father's trying to topple them down along with the Cristiano's but the Earl parted the work in two instead of making them work together. He gave the Cristiano's to father while giving the Monroe's to Tyki."

"And what exactly is he supposed to do?" I ask a bit curious about what this is all about.

"Control. The little plan you gave the other time is working. Now all that father needs is an excuse to let the Monroe's and Cristiano's duke it out so as to not implicate the family. Or something to that extent at least." She toys with the ribbon on her dress, adjusting it before continuing. "And all he needs to put that war in motion is for both families to be in the same room."

"How's he supposed to help then?"

"Get the widowing Mrs. Monroe to visit the mansion out of her own volition." Road points at the crowd where Tyki is and where he's speaking to a woman that's gorgeous but almost in her mid to late-forties. Despite that, though, one can still see the beauty that she once used to be and to which she clings to. "Once that's done, father can easily bring Mr. Cristiano in and the rest will just unfold by itself."

"So complicated…" I mutter under my breath as my eyes cross over to watch the Monroe son chatting away with more ladies.

"Well, it would be easier if Lulubell went after Elijah but the mission was given to Tyki. He's supposed to hold his weight in the family just as much as all of us do."

This is getting mighty interesting, really. "So Elijah's an easier target?"

"In a matter of speaking, yeah," Road replies with a grin. "He's more into younger girls too. Not my age young but pretty young if you ask me seeing as he's already hitting his early thirties." She taps around with her heavy heels until she jumps in place startling me in the process. "I know!"

"W-What?"

"You could help!" the glee in her face doesn't go away.

"Help?"

"Sure, just go down there and do something that catches Elijah's attention. Surely if you keep him hooked good enough he'll chase you to our home," Road suggests with a grand smile.

"I-I don't think I should," I mumble while scratching the back of my neck.

"But you have to," Road retorts in a honeyed voice that makes me look up to her. This time she's staring at me with a devilish grin. "I'm ordering you to. Go down there, and get him to want to come visit us."

_Well, damn._

Even if I refuse now, I'll surely get in trouble since she 'ordered' me to do it. But then again—

" _Pull his weight as much as we do."_

That one comment makes me wonder…if I capture the Monroe's attention instead of Tyki's, will _he_ be the one punished for his incompetence?

Now that's a prospect that lifts my spirits.

_And if I'm good at anything, it's catching people's eye._

"It's just a matter of getting that Elijah guy interested enough to visit, correct?" I ask to assure myself of what I'm doing.

"Yep~" Road says with a grin. "Sounds simple, right?"

_Child's play, really._

But it wouldn't do good to tell her that. I must act like this'll be a hard task or else she won't let me. "I'll be doing just that then."

"Have a nice trip~" she coos while waving her hand at me as I leave her side to climb down the stairs that lead directly to the ballroom.

Parting the curtains that separate me from the room, I take one peak out and am instantly overwhelmed by the amount of people here. There's too many. Quickly shaking the thought out, I'm more determined to see this through. If I can outplay Tyki in this game then I'm surely to be given some leeway in this family.

_In the very least a pass to go about on my own._

All for my freedom.

Taking a deep breath, I take my first step outside and try parting my way through the Red Sea. I'm careful not to hang close to where Tyki is. If he sees me now there's no telling what he'll do. But with how many girls are swarming over him, it'd be impossible for him to see me.

_Especially when they're all taller than me._

Throwing that thought aside, I go away to look for the _other_ pool of females that swarm around the only other man available and my actual target. Once I do find him, though, this seems to be a much harder task than I first thought.

The halo that surrounds Elijah is thick and every time that I try to even get close to him, I'm pushed back by the crowd. Shit, this is feeling more like a damn mosh pit than a ball seeing how they cling to him.

_Disgusting._

But I have to concentrate. How can I get to talk to him?

My eyes wonder around the place and find the stage where the musicians are at again. They're on a small break so they're just loitering around nearby it while drinking and whatnot. They have a lot of instruments: violins, cellos, even a grand piano.

_Piano?_

Ah, that's it!

My feet are already on the move before I can even think the plan through. But it really doesn't matter. I've done this before at that pub. They were so entranced by the music from my era that maybe it can work with these people too.

I'm already talking with the pianist while my brain goes through what I'm going to perform. When I mention that Minister Kamelot had hired me for entertainment at the last minute, they didn't hesitate and listened to what I had to say.

_Nice._

"What piece will you perform, young miss?" the leading violinist asks me.

There's a split second where my mind goes through every song in the repertoire of my brain. They're mostly Disney ones with a few classical ones but none that I can sing along with. Jazz, maybe would work, but what would be an appropriate—

"Ah, I know," I reply with a final word. "Don't worry, I'll just need your pianist and some percussion, if you have it." They round up to listen to what I have to say.

_Yes. If I work this just right I'll have Elijah wrapped around my finger._

* * *

_Ugh, I'm starting to reach my limit._

It's been almost two hours since Tyki came in to welcome guests into the ball. He's spent most of his time talking with Ginger Monroe, his target, but that she's such an older woman makes it a bit harder. And the lot of broads hanging around trying to get a chance to talk to him weren't making it any easier on him either.

And the worst was that he only had that one night to get her out in the open without her family present. If the night went on without him making any formidable progress, he'd have to go on to the Monroe's where he'd have to play nice and coax her their way.

And that's something he's trying to avoid at all costs.

_Only an hour to sink or swim._

But really, could this night get any worse.

His train of thought suddenly stops when the lights from the hanging chandeliers above them dim to a mellow orange that casts a nice and calm atmosphere around the room. Because of the sudden change of lighting, all eyes suddenly turn to the one place were the most light was lit: the stage.

There's no introduction; the pianist only comes and bows before going to sit before the grand piano. From his place in the middle of the ballroom, Tyki can see how the man brushes his fingers across the ivory keys before starting a rather savory and serene tune.

It's the moment that a certain slender figure steps into the dim light that he can't help but stare in awe at the gorgeous petite thing he sees in a red and golden gown.

_I had to open my mouth, didn't I?_

The melody grows quieter to let Reina's voice boom through the room as she begins to chorus the song.

" _I'm sentimental_  
_So I walk in the rain_  
_I've got some habits_  
_Even I can't explain_  
_Go to the corner_  
_I end up in Spain_ _  
__Why try to change me now_

 _I sit and daydream_   
_I've got daydreams galore_   
_Cigarette ashes_   
_There they go on the floor_   
_Go away weekends_   
_Leave my keys in the door_ _  
_ _Why try to change me now—"_

The whole image that she gives is something that Tyki can comprehend. The way she's languidly walking through the stage while letting her voice boom through the silent ballroom is incredible. It's just like the time at the tavern where everybody was mesmerized through the bone.

_No, this is different._

The whole sensation of the piece gives a more mature aura than the childish song that she sang that night in the pub. The way she walks, her attire, and her hazed over look and soft smile just add something to her demeanor that he'd never seen before.

And it's something that entraps him along with all the others who watch and listen. Her voice isn't high-pitched or annoying. It follows the mellowness and relaxing sensation of the melody. And as she continues to walk about the stage, her eyes wonder about looking nowhere in specific.

He recognized that look.

_She's acting._

But…to what end?

" _Why can't I be more conventional_  
_People talk and they stare_ _  
__So I try—"_

Her aimless, slow meandering finally takes her off the stage as she climbs down the small set of steps that lay on either side of it. As she reaches it, the crowd seems to seamlessly part and give way to her. It's too much of a similarity to what he does.

Sweet words and a coy smile that has them eating at the palm of her hand.

" _But that can't be_  
_Cuz I can't see_  
_My strange little world_ _  
__Just go passing me by—"_

She's parting the sea of people and wanders yet not far from the stage. It isn't until she continues on to the next verse that she goes on to her intended point that he catches the drift of what her intentions are.

_She's after the Monroe brat?!_

" _Let people wonder_  
_Let 'em laugh_  
_Let 'em frown_  
_You know I'll love you_ _  
__Till the moon's upside down—"_

The mob of women that seemed too enthralled are parting ways to let her cross the floor as she continues to sing. Her languid steps finally take her to Elijah who's as dumbfounded as the rest.

Precariously, Reina sets a finger upon his chest and runs it across getting his eyes wide and staring in awe at the daring woman.

This, however, only ignites something in Tyki that burns low but starts picking up heat as she stalks around him and continues her ballad. She's trying to catch his attention and she's doing a mighty fine job at it.

_Too good a job._

She's going way too far with it. Touching him, smiling coyly at him, it only fuels the pit that burns like hell in his stomach. The more she goes on the more he feels like ripping the guy to shreds. But he restrains himself and simply balls his hand into a fist.

" _Don't you remember_  
_I was always your clown_ _  
__Why try to change me now—"_

The worst though is when she takes the small piano solo to her advantage. Reina swiftly grabs Elijah's hand and pulls him over to a dance as the piano continues. The girls part a bigger space to make their dancing easier.

But this just makes the qualm in Tyki that he just can't quell grow immensely. This is too similar to when _he_ did the same and took her out to dance in the tavern.

_She's becoming too cheeky._

But before he could even start storming in, more people start to move too but with whole other intentions. Pairs start to dance along with them as if enticed by Reina's first move to follow after. She was such a natural born leader that they followed at her every move and tune of her song.

And even continue on as her singing does.

" _Why can't I be more conventional_  
_People talk and they stare_  
_So I try_  
_But that can't be_  
_because I can't see_  
_My strange little world_ _  
__Just go passing me by—"_

The pairs that had started dancing suddenly stop when Reina's voice grows slower and smoother. Tyki, along with the rest, watch as Elijah dances her towards the stairs. Suavely, she parts from him but doesn't let go of his hand as he walks her up the steps and onto the stage where she finally releases him. The piano then crescendos into a high note then quiets and slows to a much smoother tempo than before.

She walks up to the piano as it continues to play and brushes her fingers across the raised top with a smile as she sings. She twirls one last time before facing the crowd to sing the final chorus but fixates her gander upon Elijah who hadn't move an inch from his place before the stage.

" _So let people wonder_  
_Let 'em laugh_  
_Let 'em frown_ _  
__You know I'll love you til the moon's upside down—"_

Her eyes stay stationary all the while on him until she reaches her hand towards him. He takes it and softly plants a kiss on the back of her hand. She smiles coyly but Tyki can see just what she had done.

_He's hooked._

Reina slowly pulls her hand away and faces the crowd. Not intentionally, it seems, she found his gaze and the sudden coyness in them changes in a split second. All he sees in them then is a heartbroken expression that she hides behind a small smile.

It's an expression that wrings something so hard that his hand travels up to his chest where the pressure felt the worse. _What on earth…?_

" _Don't you remember_  
_I was always your clown_  
_Why try to change me_  
_Why would you want to change me_ _  
__Why try to change me now—"_

But just as fast as he sees it, it's shrouded by the lights dimming again just as the piano finishes its chords in darkness. A few seconds pass by before the lights come back on and the performers come up to the stage and bow down to receive a thunderous applause from the crowd.

And once that trance is broken, it takes everything he has to restrain from bashing the face of the bastard of Monroe that still lingers close to the stage and won't stop staring. And most of all, he can't keep the pit that's boiling in him at seeing her smile down back at him.

_**That stray needs to be taught a hard lesson.** _

_Right—now._

* * *

_Really, that was much easier than I thought._

The moment I come down the stage, people are hoarding around me to ask me questions I can't even begin to answer. But one that I'm eager to answer is when Elijah comes closer to me with a smile.

The crowd disperses when he asks for a second to speak with me. At accepting he takes me aside where we're hidden a bit from the rest of the ball as it continues.

"What a wonderful performance…" he compliments and lingers on the sentence.

"Reina," is all the answer I give him with a smile.

"Beautiful," he adds and I'm not sure whether he referred to the song or the name. But whichever it is, it's not a problem. I've got to get him to agree to a meeting back here.

If I can get that…

"Never had the pleasure of meeting such a pleasant yet daring young lady. It is such a breath of fresh air that I don't believe I would ever forget meeting you. Have you lived here with the Minister not long, perhaps?"

"Almost a week ago, actually." I give him a quick and vague explanation about my orphan status and how 'Uncle Sheril' took me in at seeing I had nowhere else to go. "And he allowed me to come tonight to forget about those horrid occurrences."

"That's travesty," he agrees with a somber tone of voice.

_Pity. Great, he's getting cornered._

Just one last push.

"Quite so," I reply. "But it is also quite lonely around here since I have yet to make acquaintance of such an estranged family."

"Is it now?" The beaming smile that he gives me and the enthusiasm he says those words with are enough to let me know what he's about to say next.

_Check._

"Then if it's not much trouble, would it be possible for me—"

"There you are, darling."

At hearing that husky, baritone voice, I freeze in place.

 _No! I was so…_ _**close!** _

Before I know it, Tyki's hand is around my waist and resting on my hip. The fake gentleman atmosphere that suddenly surrounds me makes me turn the other way.

"Ah, Lord Mikk." Elijah's sudden naming of Tyki, though, makes me glance toward him then at Tyki. "Mother has told me quite the stories about your conversations."

"Lady Monroe has always been a delight to be around. But I must say that I am here to take this child away."

_What?!_

"R-Really?" Elijah hesitates at hearing the same thing. "But the ball is far from over."

"I'm afraid it isn't a matter of choice. Minister Kamelot has asked for her presence and I was given the task to escort her."

"Well, I could escort her to the Minister. I just need to have a word with Lady Reina."

Wow, persistent.

And that has a nice ring to it…Lady Reina.

"Excuse me…Lord Mikk." Ugh, that has a nasty one though but I can't seem to refer to him any other way before Elijah. "I'm sure that the Minister will not mind if it's a few minutes."

"Now, young lady, ignoring the Minister's request will not bode well," the grip on my waist tightens slightly and the honeyed tone in his voice just makes it that much clearer that he wants to get me out of here and fast. "Let us head back."

He turns and grabs my hand to tuck it over his arm as he starts to escort me away. I try to pry his hand off and delay our walk as much as possible.

_I can't leave now! I'm so close!_

"Lady Reina!" Elijah's sudden call makes both of us stop but it's only me who turns to look at him. "It will be some other time then. I'll be sure to come visit some other time to continue our conversation with more leisure."

A smile creeps to my lips at that.

_Checkmate._

"I'll be looking forward to that day," I say with a coy smile. Tyki suddenly tightens the grip on my forearm rather painfully and that makes me turn to try and pry it again as we go on with the walk. Tyki disses the girls that come to speak to him with a smile but I can see what lies beneath it.

He's furious.

_Why the hell is he mad, though?_

I just made his job easier, didn't I?

But there are no answers for me, only harsh manhandling as he takes me up to the balcony in the second floor back to where Road is. But instead of only Road and Lulubell being there, Sheril sits on the table drinking tea but looking rather impatient. Road on the other hand has the most mischievous grin on her face.

_This does not bode well for me._

The moment Tyki closes the door behind us, Sheril gets up from his chair with a glare that just stabs daggers onto me. "What on earth did you think you were doing?"

"Doing my job?" I try but the cutesy way won't do me any good here.

Sheril's expression changes into one that scares and creeps me out all at the same time in the span of seconds. Before either of us says anything a horrible sensation comes over my legs that makes them both buckle. All I can do not to fall is grab ahold of Tyki as tight as I can. Without intending to, he grabs onto my waist and arm to help me get to my feet but I can't.

The pain—the muscles on my legs feel like their churning from inside. It hurts so much that I can't scream.

"Sheril." Tyki's stern voice follows an aggravated sigh from Sheril before the ravaging pain goes away. When it finally does, I'm barely standing with the help Tyki gives me.

But the fact that it was Sheril who caused me the pain just made me livid. Especially when there's no reason to be hostile against me. "What's the problem, anyway? I got Monroe's promise to visit the Kamelot's. Wasn't that the point of Tyki's mission? I just made it easier on all of you."

"Giving excuses is useless, mutt," Sheril spits out angrily. "You were given specific orders to not call attention to yourself from the Earl."

"But Road said—"

_That it was an order._

She ordered me to go down there and get Elijah's attention despite knowing fully well that I wasn't supposed to. Road was being so detailed about everything and so helpful and I got my hopes a little too high about beating Tyki that I didn't pay rightful attention to what needed to be seen.

Road ordered me to go, which if I had refused, I would have been punished.

But by obeying her, I disobeyed the Earl's order to lay low during the ball.

I was bound to lose either way.

My eyes look up to the girl that sits on the table, twirling her umbrella while having a wicked smile on her porcelain skin.

_She set me up._

"Regardless of the reasons—" Sheril's voice calls me to attention once more. "You disobeyed orders and have to be punished for it. Road will be the one to deliver it—"

"I'll do it."

Tyki's sudden interference makes Sheril glance up confused and Road glare at him with a pout. "That's not fair!" Road calls throwing a tantrum. "Father said I'd be disciplining her!"

"But she's mine," Tyki retorts with a finality that even I hear.

"Tyki's right, darling. He should be responsible for the stray he brought in the house," Sheril tells her. Road doesn't argue any further but sits there in a pit of pouts.

"Then I'll be leaving with her." That's the last he says before he drags me out of the balcony and back into the mansion. We go so further in that it's hard to keep up with where we're going.

It isn't until he opens the door to my room and throws me inside before slamming the door closed, that I can finally see just how livid he is.

_Shit._

"What the hell were you thinking?!" he yells at my face.

I start backing up but then remember that doing that only shows weakness. And I'm not about to let them see that. So instead I glare the daggers back and yell. "I was tired of sitting around!"

"And blowing off an order from the Earl is your idea of fun!"

"You really expect me to lay low and answer to your beck and calls?!" I inquire louder than him. "I'm never going back to being anybody's bitch! Not yours, not Sheril's or Road's, and especially not a big fat bully like the Earl!"

"Are you out of your mind? Another mistake like that will cost you! Does death really sound that grand to you?!"

"Anything sounds better than forced servitude." My voice isn't above a yell this time. It's serious because of how close it hits home this time.

The fact that I'm not screaming anymore calms his own volume but not his anger. "Why are you being so stubborn about this?" he asks with an aggravated sigh.

"I'm done serving others," I hiss and glare at him, wishing I could convey just how much this burns me. "If you or any other wants to own me then you'll have to break me beyond my mind. When I'm no longer able to think and fight for myself, that's when I'll finally submit. But any second before that I'll continue to fight. I've learned that lesson before and I'll never make that mistake again."

He's so irritated that he has nothing to say for a few minutes. He finally just sighs and turns to leave. Before he closes the door behind himself, though, he finds the voice to speak. "Do what you want. If you want to go ahead and kill yourself then be my guest. I'm done sticking my neck out for you." With that final reply he goes and slams the door hard enough to make the walls shake.

_He's done…with me?_

Those words struck something in me that I can't point out.

It hurts. That's all that I can tell. It hurts much worse than the pain from him choking me or the pain Sheril caused me. This goes beyond physical pain.

This just… _hurts._

* * *

_Damn brat._

Tyki tosses the items of clothing that he undressed from around his room in an angry stupor. But he couldn't stop there. He threw everything he could around. Anything to keep his hands occupied from going back there and doing the girl in himself.

He just couldn't believe that such a small thing could infuriate him so easily. Every damn thing she did just mounted on itself until it made him explode in anger. This was no different. When they fight, it's hard and loud. Nothing's held back and neither knows when to shut their mouths.

_She's just too much._

_**Forget her.** _

Like he said, he was done babysitting her. He tried his damn hardest to keep her safe and away from Sheril and the others; to try and keep her alive so that once he returned to his light side, he could just toss her back and leave her there.

But she's too pig-headed to bow down. She's adamant to never be submissive to any of them but he knew his family. Once she went too far, they'll kill her off. And once that happened, he wouldn't be able to stop them.

But he's done.

_Never again. Go kill yourself while you have the chance and good riddance._

Languidly undoing his tie, the last of his stuffy clothing, he drops on his lounge chair and simply stares at the embers that burn in the fireplace in his room. But no matter how much he tried to forget it turns harder by the second.

The fiery pit in his stomach that hadn't quelled after the performance doesn't allow him to think of anything else. He's livid but can't help but think that it's just how Reina is.

She's stubborn, stupid, and selfish.

_And she's beautiful that way._

_**What?** _

"What the hell…?"

Where the hell was his mind going? Reina…beautiful?

The girl that can't seem to care whether her head remains on her shoulders? That stubbornly idiotic woman that won't back down from any kind of fight? The immensely selfless fool that risks everything to stay free and true to herself?

The one that _actually_ remains herself true.

So unlike me.

_Exactly what makes her so different…and special._

"Fuck…" he groans and slumps down on his chair. This fucking mindset won't go away and he can't loiter much in it when he hears the door to his room open.

"Aw~ Where's pooch?" Road's voice pouts as she comes and climbs over the chair to look down at Tyki. The latter, though, won't meet her eyes and instead watches the hearth of the fire.

"In her room," he simply answers.

"And her punishment?"

"Too tired. I'll do it later."

"Boo~" she mopes around and puffs her cheeks in annoyance. "But I was looking forward to it. You know strays learn better if punished right after the deed, right?"

"Drop it, Road."

"Huh?" The sudden hostility that Tyki voices makes Road glance down at him. "Tyki?"

"Road's right, Tyki-pyon." Oh, this wasn't getting any better. "And if punishment for pooch is what you want then it's lucky that I'm here then."

"Why lucky?" Road asks while turning to the Earl.

The Millennium Earl holds a trump card in his hand and tosses it to Tyki who catches it without hesitance. With a glance at it, the sudden gloom around him changes and a smirk appears. At seeing this, Road only smiles as well knowing that this is Tyki's actual disposition.

The Noah side of his that loves to hunt and kill.

"His name is Kevin Yeager, a general of the Black Order."

"General, huh?" Road says eyeing the card. "Are we hunting _it_ down again?"

"Yes, you've loitered around enough as it is, Tyki-pyon. Do this job with Road, verify whether he has the Heart or not and I'll allow you some leeway before your next job."

"Really?" Tyki asks as he twirls the card in his finger.

"Yes."

"I'm all in then."

"Good," the Earl replies and starts sneezing. He wipes his nose before continuing. "And as I said, while you're at it teach pooch a lesson or two. Most of all, she should learn not to bite the hand that feeds her."

Before Tyki can say anything about that, Road answers him. "Of course. I actually have the perfect punishment in mind. Oh!" As if suddenly remembering something, Road looks down at Tyki. "But I need your permission first, Tyki."

_Let Road punish her?_

" _I'm done serving others…I've learned my lesson before and I'm never making that mistake again."_

And neither would he.

"Go right ahead."

"Yay~" Road cheers and clings to him from over the chair. Tyki ignores her but Road just continues like she always does. "Thank you, Tyki. And don't worry, once I'm done she won't ever want to bite back." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to KomodoLass (from FF.net), we've got the most awesome drawing that correlates to this chapter. The gorgeous dress was drawn by her and it's something that I just can't stop ogling at TwT Here's the link: http://authoringwhatnot.tumblr.com/post/128888627027/xeveningx-its-done-its-finally-done-k-so-if
> 
> As for the song used on this chapter, it's Why Try to Change Me Now by Fionna Apple.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Thirteen** _

**Oath**

* * *

It's been three days since the ball and three days since I last had a meal. The maids have stopped coming after that night and no one has shown their faces since. Someone always brings me a jug of fresh water but besides that they don't speak to me or look me in the face. It's up to me to make my own bath and everything else which I've gotten used to ever since the maids began bullying me into it but it was boring.

Forget that I haven't had a meal in the past three days—causing famine was a favorite tactic of Noir's—my boredom would kill me before I ate all the fat that I had stored in my body.

But I suppose this is the punishment they were talking about. I'm not stupid and I've seen those documentaries on jail life, most notably the solitary cells. No contact with any human being can cause nasty effects. Somehow, it seems I'm coping with the books that I still had left and as long as I had water, I could go without eating for a while although it's rather annoying hearing my stomach remind me of its emptiness every other hour.

On the fourth morning I wake up earlier than I'm used to but gathered myself and did what I could to keep myself busy. All day the clouds linger in the sky and grey the earth outside my window. By late noon I'm simply lounging around when the doors suddenly burst open. The noise takes me by surprise and I stumble from the bed to see the maids barging into the room.

One carries a tray that instantly catches my attention. Ah, steak. But the others head straight for my wardrobe which isn't boding well with me.

"What's going on?" I ask glancing back and forth from the juicy steak that's calling me and the clothing they keep pulling out.

"Mistress Road has asked for you," the main maid simply says and motions for the one holding the tray to lay it down on the bed. "You must eat and we shall dress you afterwards."

_Not gonna say 'no' to that._

"Don't mind if I do," is the only mumble I give and step right ahead to gulf that thing down. Damn, starvation really is hard when the food is so good. I'm done within minutes and the maids ravage on with their routine. First a bath despite already having taken one and then the dressing. This time they choose a baby blue skirt with a high waist corset and a long-sleeved, white silk blouse tucked into it. Nude leggings and black shoes adorn the bottom and they give me a black cloak to cover myself with.

And again they've done that in record time.

Once they deem their work good enough, the main maid tells me to follow her and she takes me out of the room towards some other place that I can't recognize. That's until she sees Road and Tyki in the distance standing around as if waiting for her.

Road has her childish attire on along with that one pumpkin umbrella and Tyki the usual suit and a deck of cards that he's shuffling from one hand to another in boredom. Turning about with the umbrella, Road finally catches sight of me and smirks.

"Finally." She barely says that before turning about again. Tyki doesn't even face me. From out of nowhere in the ground a grand door sprouts and scares the living hell out of me. The door is disproportionate; the top bulging out, checkered in red and black and lined in gold. "Let's get going!"

"To where?" I ask a bit curious about the Houdini door and her sudden enthusiasm.

Road only smiles at me and that just sends chills down my spine. "To work~"

* * *

Outside is just as horrible as the dark clouds forecasted. It's not raining yet but the humidity is maxed out and I can't help but fan myself under the heavy cloak. All the same, though, I'm grateful for it because I'm sure that at any minute now the rain will come pouring down.

Road doesn't seem affected and neither is Tyki though I'm not really paying attention to him. He was pretty clear that other night that he wasn't going to look out for me anymore. It's time for me to go back to taking care of _numero uno_.

_Why are you glancing back and forth at him then?_

Shut it, brain.

But it's hard not to when there's nothing going on. We've been standing around in this cliff for about half an hour straight and the tedium is starting to gnaw at me. Road's simply playing around with that umbrella of hers while Tyki plays around with that same deck of cards.

And once the forty minute mark comes around I'm forced to say something. "Are we going to watch the grass grow forevermore or are we actually here for something?"

"Shut it!"

The sudden shriek makes me jump first because of how unexpected it was and second because it isn't anybody here who said that. This voice is much more high-pitched and way more annoying but there's no one here besides us.

"Who—"

"You stupid human, I said to be quiet!" My eyes finally come up to what caws like a crazy parrot and land on the pumpkin head of the umbrella only to see that it's _talking_ to me.

"What in the—"

"Ah, that's true." Road interrupts me for a second time and turns while twirling the umbrella and that lets me hear clearly the pumpkin protest about being spun like that. "You haven't met. Lero's the Earl's golem."

"Golem?"

"No need to understand," Tyki interferes and catches my attention as he plays with a single card in between his fingers. "He's just a tool much like Tease."

_God, so confusing._

But the conversation is so off point that I'm forced to digress. "Forget the talking pumpkin, what are we _doing_ here?"

"Obviously waiting, can't you see?" Road plays coy with a smile to boot and that just ticks me off.

"For what, exactly?" I ask again trying very desperately to keep my cool.

"Well, we _are_ out hunting…" she replies and smirks while swaying Lero back and forth.

They're waiting for their prey then.

_But who are they out to kill?_

Tyki did mention that the Earl sends them out on jobs often to kill but he never really specified who. Not like there's a human alive who can battle it out with these freaks and their powers.

"There it is." Just as Tyki says that, a carriage comes out from the woods into the dirt road making its way north. Tyki flips the card in between his fingers before glancing at it. "Is it him?"

"He doesn't look like much fun," Road comments with a clear pout. Only they would find a hunt fun. Or see through carriages for that matter. The only person visible from our vantage point was the coachman dressed all in white.

"Who is he?" I hate being left out in the margins, especially when I have no idea why they brought me along to one of their jobs.

"You'll find out." Tyki raises his palm and summons a Tease that simply rests upon him. "But out of sight. You'll watch from the sidelines and before you spout out any of your nonsense I'm giving you this warning." The butterfly suddenly shoots away from his hand just beside my ear and behind me. The whistling as it passes my face is audible and the sharp squeal behind me makes me instantly spin on my heels.

There on the ground is a small rabbit that was struck by the snipping insect. It twitches in pain before black stars start showing on its body. They spread and in seconds its whole body is black before it hardens and crumbles like dried charred wood.

"Dark matter affects all living things and Akuma are made of it. If they even graze you it _will_ infect you and you'll be just like that rodent."

The shock washes off and an irritated frown appears in its stead but the message is clear. "I'm stubborn, not stupid."

"Better be," he simply says and that burns me but I keep quiet. They clearly overpower me regardless of what training I had and I can accept that. Yet it's hard to bite my tongue and say nothing.

"Well then," Road interjects with a grin. "Let's just take care of him, Tyki."

It's easy for them to bring me down with them onto ground level. The rain begins to pour just like I thought it would and I can do nothing but hide underneath the canopy of the trees. Tyki leaves me behind near the road on which they stand in the middle of.

"Let's make some noise." Road swings Lero in the air and from the canopy of trees floating balls with cannons in every direction come out along with two armored giants. At a closer look, those balls seem metallic by the way they shine and the faces they have are just creepy. Road opens Lero up and it lifts her up as if air pushed up on the open umbrella and she comes to sit on the shoulder of one of the giant soldiers.

The horse drawn carriage stops short where they block their path with the coachman stunned at seeing so many of these monsters here. Once it stops the doors of the carriage open to reveal two more white-robbed men coming out and an old man dressed in black and gold. Odd attire really since it sets him apart from the rest.

_He must be the one they're looking for._

It's just like in the movies; the odd one out is the first one dead. That and the slutty girl who wants to have sex in the middle of the woods. Hollywood has brainwashed me.

The old man's voice boom's out with authority when he asks for their names.

"Road Kamelot."

"Tyki Mikk."

And just like that they answer. This seems like a standstill but I can sense the unspoken hostility from both sides. Something's going on here.

Having tipped his hat at the old man, Tyki places it back and speaks again. "General Yeager, I'd like all the Innocence you have in your possession. That includes yours, of course."

_Innocence?_

As I hear the conversation, that word keeps coming back as a noun. It's an object, apparently. No, multiple ones. The old man swings his arms apart to dangle spiked chains.

"That's your Innocence, isn't it?" Road asks cheerfully.

Yeah, definitely multiple ones. Road goes on with her nonsensical talk and it doesn't bode much until she speaks of Akuma. The same thing that Tyki warned me against. Those machine-like balls and the giants are all Akuma, apparently.

_Akuma. Innocence._

Why does this all sound so…familiar? Have I heard it somewhere before?

The old man orders the three others to run away and after some sturdy commands they start heading out just as the General swings out his chains. They strike a couple of the Akuma which explode in a loud burst of metal. The explosions are so deafening that I have to cover my ears but my eyes are glued to what's happening before me. The old geezer is holding a good fight, I'll give him that much. Despite his opponents being ten times his size, not to mention inhuman, he fights back destroying each and every one as they come.

Almost as if he were trained to fight against them.

The Akuma start giving chase when they catch wind of the men escaping but the old man opens his coat to show something hidden beneath the folds. "I have all the Innocence." Inside are what I distinguish to be green cubes encircled by cogs that shine with an ethereal green glow.

Cubes…

Huh?

_Why…did I just think of Alice in Wonderland's 'Drink Me' bottles?_

The crazy thought leaves me soon enough when the fight concentrates on the General again and the explosions continue. A numbness begins to settle on my ears and covering them does nothing anymore. The fighting goes on for a while and by the time he's done with the mechanical spheres he seems winded and tired. All that's left now are the soldiers. They mention the outcome being expected with him being a General but that all means nothing to me.

At least not in the context I'm used to. Gerard was a Capt. in his snipping squad but neither he nor anyone in that squadron were any older than forty. How can an old man be allowed in a war?

He continues to fight them even though he's clearly exhausted and swiftly deals with the shielded one. The lance-weilding soldier takes a step back. He's obviously overpowering them despite his age and low stamina.

The old man might actually live long enough to get those reinforcements.

_Do you really think that?_

My eyes wonder over to Tyki and Road who simply watch from the sidelines with grins on their faces.

He won't.

"I need a new shield." The Akuma's voice suddenly catches me by surprise when I hear it too close. Before I can even do anything, its unoccupied hand already has me in a vice grip by my waist and legs. It's crushing me and I yell out while trying to pry out from its hand.

"A girl?!"

"Uh oh~" Road's voice barely reaches me from how much I'm concentrating on not letting it completely crush me. "What are you going to do, General?" My gaze follows the name and I'm looking right at the old man that seems determined to save me.

And that just wrenches something in me.

He throws his spiked chain to capture the hand it holds me with and with a clean pull cuts it right off from him. The metallic hand finally lets me go but I'm falling now. But before I get even close to the floor, the chains that had cut so deadly before now cocoon me gently to bring me down to stand behind the old man.

"Stay behind me, child." He swiftly lets his chains fly once more to rip the Akuma and make it explode like the others. Now all who are left are Road and Tyki. They congratulate him on his work as if they had expected the outcome.

"Noah's Clansmen, are you?"

"Noah?" I repeat under my breath not really understanding all this insane talk. "I heard you are human, not demon, and yet serve the Millennium Earl."

"We don't serve him," Tyki clarifies.

"And we're not just humans," Road disagrees just as firmly. "We're super-humans, endowed with the genes of Noah. God's closest son." The General sounds just as shocked as I was when I found this out by experience. "And we're gonna end this world filled with half-asses like you!"

The General compares her to one of his students before charging up his chains and attacking Road. Like a brat, she lets the chains catch Lero as he complains. The old man, though, simply whips the chains back and throws Lero in Road's direction and catches her cheek with a scratch.

It isn't surprising that she suddenly reacts like Tyki had when I cut his hand with my knife. "How dare he?!" She draws her hand back as visible purple energy starts to crackle around her. Just like that dark matter that Tyki showed me. "Take this!" She lashes out her arm and the pulsating energy follows towards us. Before I can do or say anything the chains are already wrapped around me as gently as before but this time quickly toss me aside and out of the trajectory of Road's attack that hits him directly. "Well then, I'll send you to see your dearly beloved students!" The air around us changes as Road encloses him in a giant box that we're watching now from outside.

My legs are stiff but I manage to stand and run to it to watch what is happening inside. All I see is scenes like a movie that keep repeating about a tragedy at a school. A teacher who couldn't save his students from an Akuma. Teacher…Road called him that. These are his memories.

_It's the same thing she did to me._

He's trapped inside his haunting memories and keeps repeating them over and over without being able to do anything about it. Road's doing this and it's torturing him. An old mind like his won't be resilient against something so heartbreaking.

"Stop." It comes out as a mere whisper that's drowned by the macabre song that Road starts to sing.

" _The Millennium Earl is looking for you_  
Looking for you, you precious Heart  
Is this really it? Let's take a look—"

The tune drives me to the edge and it has me yelling at her. "Stop this, please!" I grab her by the hand she has conducting and grip it tightly. "You're going to kill him!?"

Road simply grins and that just assures me that it's exactly what she wants. She slaps my hand away and turns to the agonizing General. "Come on, sing with me. Sing!" But finally after doing nothing, Tyki grabs her by the wrist and even surprises her. "Tyki?"

"That's enough. Let him out."

I almost think she will ignore him like he did me but am proven wrong when she lets the illusion fall apart. When it's finally gone completely we're left at the same dirt road from before with me closer to the General than they are. He's exhausted and that was with mere seconds inside that box but time is irrelevant in that thing. And if he continues to fight like this he won't last.

"I'll finish this quickly." Tyki's sudden declaration makes me turn his way a little too late. He dashes forward with a handful of dark matter in his hand that luckily the old man avoids. The impact on the floor makes a huge explosion that stuns all around and gives Tyki the opening to attack him full on.

"No, stop!" But all I can do is yell. Even if I step in, there's nothing I can do and that frustrates me. "Tyki!" The General seems to react and backs him off himself but not for long. Tyki sends a hurricane of his butterflies that launches the old man in the air and smacks him down hard on the floor.

Seconds go by with nothing but silence and when I see that they're not attacking him anymore I quickly get on my feet and run to him. Kneeling before the General, I quickly take down the basic of his vitals. Heartbeat is quick and breathing shallow. Goodness knows what kind of internal damage Tyki did atop of Road's mental breakdown.

"Can you hear me? Sir!" I call loud enough for him to hear but his eyes are somewhere else and that hazed over look is hard not to miss.

_He's delirious._

"If only I could have saved you…" That's the last I hear from him before he faints.

"God damn it." His breathing's now getting slower and the rapid beating is slowing fast. There's nothing much I can do except basic things that I learned back home but they serve no purpose other than to prolong the inevitable.

"Move." At looking up, I glare daggers at Tyki and even bare my teeth in a snarl.

"He was incapacitated. Not even a threat! Why the fuck did you have to do that?!" I yell once I stand up to his face. The tick on his jaw is clear to see but I can't level myself. Nonsensical violence is something I've seen one time too many. And it's idiotic and repugnant at its worst.

"Now pooch, don't bare those fangs at Tyki-pyon or I'll close that trap permanently." The threat came out of the blue and takes my anger's direction from Tyki to the Earl who hovers down to the floor with Lero. But I'm forced to stand back as he addresses the others. "Good work, you two."

Tyki shoves past me and kneels to take the cubes of Innocence from the General's coat before taking them back to the Earl. One by one he begins to take them in his hand to crush them. They emit a bright green glow each time they get pulverized and fall down in a glitter of green dust that's taken away by the rain.

And I can't understand anything of what they've done.

"Why…?" The question comes out in a quiet whisper that I don't expect anybody to answer. "What's the purpose of all this…?"

"Innocence." My eyes shift over to Road who speaks to me from a few feet away while never taking her eyes away from the Earl's destruction of each cube "A power given to Exorcists of that dumb Black Order by their so-called God to fight against the Akuma. But this is all an idiotic attempt to go against us, the true Apostles of God." Her eyes turn to me and the shine from the breaking Innocence gives her an ominous air about her[. "And we're to bring the world to an end for its sins as the Noah Family in this holy war."

That's what this is all about? "War…?"

"None of these are the Heart. And the last one?" The Earl's sudden proclamation makes us turn back to him just in time to see Tyki break the General's chains to reveal the Innocence that he possessed. Just like Road said, it's their power. They must forge them into weapons to fight against the Akuma and Noah. Tyki tosses it to the Earl who pitches it with Lero high into the air but at seeing nothing sublime happening, they assume that it isn't this 'Heart' that they're looking for.

"All that trouble and none of these is it?" Road adds rather disappointed. A groan takes all of our attention back to the General who starts to awake from his exhaustion. "He's still alive."

Oh God, no _._

A gleam comes onto Tyki's eyes and a sadistic grin appears on his features. "Not for much longer."

_Please, don't interfere._

_**Reina!** _

But despite of how much my mind is telling me not to, I can't help but jump right in between Tyki and the agonizing General. I know how suicidal this is but I can't stop myself. A ravenous instinct makes me want to stand to protect him.

I failed to save someone who's protected me in the past.

_Never again._

"Stand aside," Tyki's voice is deep and with intent to push me aside if needed but I stand firm. He frowns frustrated at what he so blatantly calls my suicide attempts. "Are you really going to waste your life on one who's already lost his?"

I make no reply but stand in place not willing to give in. Out of nowhere, Road's sudden claps take us by surprise and makes us both turn towards her. "So predictable, really. It helps that you've decided to jump in, pooch!" She comes and stands by Tyki's side with a maniacal grin that I recognize seeing many times before.

_I've just walked into a trap again._

She smirks and tosses something my way which I'm quick to catch. What is now in my hand is my butterfly knife that I swear I had forgotten behind in my room during the rush that the maids put me through. My eyes travel from it to her and see the maniacal grin still on.

But it disappears in a flash and instead a bright smile appears. "You're gonna be the one to kill the old geezer~" My eyes grow wide at the sudden exclamation.

"W-What…?" I'm so dumbfounded that I have to ask her to repeat what she just said.

"You heard me! Kill the General. Finish him off!" she coos with that same smile. "I'm giving you an order, pooch. You better be a good girl and obey or there'll be punishment awaiting you~" She nags at me with her finger as if chastising a child but I'm frozen solid at the order she just gave me.

I'm unaware of what she saw when she dug through my memories before but I'm pretty sure that she's exploiting me with the one thing that I loathe most and certainly cannot do.

I turn on my heels to see the General panting for every breath of air. The scene is different and so is the time. But right now I'm seeing with my heart not my mind. And in it that these two scenarios are so distinct makes no difference.

To my heart I'm ten again and am holding the weapon to kill Cherise. She's the only one who cared; the only one to think me worth something and even worth saving.

_Just like the General did._

The grip on my knife loosens a little from the perspiration but I hold it tight. Ever since that night of the escape from Noir's and Cherise's sacrifice I vowed to myself to never let another innocent to be killed before my eyes. I'd do the impossible to never again have to take the life of another. And I would never, _ever_ dishonor the sacrifice that Cherise made for me.

_Her sacrifice will not be in vain._

She saved me and now I must live to prove to myself that she didn't save a monster. That she actually saved a human being capable of doing good. And one that could protect others.

And for that oath…

"I won't kill him." My steady glare lands on Road who keeps the smile on her face.

"Why? Remind you too much of something?" It's hard not to cringe at the comment that hits bull's eye.

_But I won't fall for a trap like that._

Or at least that's what I think but my lips move and my voice acts when my mind tells it to stop. It's nothing but a soft murmur that only I can hear. "Stop it…"

"Hasn't it sunk in your head yet?" Road calls with no empathy whatsoever. "You've done as much horrendous things as we have and yet you still think yourself salvageable? You're not a savior, you're a monster. One whose heart is just as dark as ours." She giggles and that just sends chills done my spine. "You can't save him…just like you couldn't save Cherise!"

" **I tried!"** The shout is out of me before I know it and I'm in such an emotional turmoil that I can't control myself any longer. My hands ball into fists even with one holding my knife and knock at my head as those memories start springing up again. "I tried, God damn it! I did everything I could think of to get her out! I wanted to save her!"

"Exactly! And yet instead of saving herself she decided to save a **monster** like you!" she yells back with all the glee in the world.

_Monster…_

A cynical chuckle escapes my lips and I cover my eyes with the fist holding my knife. The scenes keep replaying just like they always have of when we ran away, almost getting out. Every time I remember her turning around I keep trying to figure out a way that it could have been different. That if I had done something differently maybe I could've saved her.

"I should've gone back," I say with a hushed voice that hurts my throat. "Even if just to protect her, I should've gone with her. After deserting them, the only thing left for me was to wait for them to chase me down and kill me. But Cherise would have had a chance."

My throat run dries and I can feel something prickling at the corner of my eyes. "And I've never regretted anything more than I do about not saving her. If I had done something differently I could have spared them. If I could have been more capable of something— _anything!_ —I could've have spared that searing pain to both." That's when the tears finally start running and I can feel myself sobbing from the simple thought that arises with those words. "No child should know that pain."

The pain that Nicholas Campbell has been suffering every day since Cherise was killed because she saved me.

"Pitiable. You're a waste of talent."

Road's words ignite something in me that makes me react unconsciously; I turn and swiftly throw my knife at her. Tragically, though, Tyki's fast enough to see it and catches it before it can harm her.

_That's the real pity here._

"I'll carry the burden of her death until I die. But until I do I will _never_ lay waste the life of another. Even at the expense of my own."

Road and Tyki only stare until the former sighs in apparent irritation. "Again, very predictable. I knew that you wouldn't do it. There's no redeeming a coward like you to its old ways."

"I'd much rather be a coward than a murderer," I reply right away and give her my final answer.

Two claps take all of our attention from the heated argument and the Earl takes a glance at each of us before speaking. "This conversation is starting to become rather obnoxious, children and pooch. I care not who kills him so long as the job gets done."

"Then let me," Tyki proposes and starts walking towards the General with me still in the way.

"I said don't!"

"Pooch." The Earl's deep timbre makes me jump in my skin but I don't falter. "Stupidity is often the downfall of many humans. And it shall soon be yours if you do not back down."

"No, I won't—" But the Earl catches so much my attention that I leave Tyki unwatched and that costs me. The last thing I feel is a sharp hit behind my neck before everything rapidly sinks to black.

* * *

"Why'd you do that, Tyki?"

_Honestly, no fucking clue._

But he couldn't just so blatantly have said that to Road when she asked. Much less in front of the Earl so another excuse would do. Tyki let out an exasperated sigh before adjusting the dead weight that's the now unconscious Reina on one arm.

So he opts for a more realistic answer. "All that ranting was starting to get on my nerves."

"What you're doing is no good, Tyki-pyon, and you know it. If you keep pampering it so much it'll think it's doing nothing wrong." The Earl's sudden interference told him that he didn't see well to what he'd just done. Had he have let that conversation go on, though, he's sure Reina wouldn't have survived much longer.

_**What happened with 'I'm done with you'?** _

He was wondering the exact same thing himself. Regardless of the reason, he couldn't force himself not to care simply because he thought it easier to deal with her that way. No matter _how_ much easier it was.

"If Tyki doesn't want it, can I keep it?" Road asks with a coy smile to the Earl and dismisses the look that Tyki gives her.

"I'm starting to question whether you keeping it was a good idea, Tyki-pyon." The Earl sneezes a couple of times reminding them all of the pour that was falling from above. "But regardless of that, it cannot continue to interfere with your job. If it does then I'll have to comply with Road's wish."

"Not to worry, Earl." Tyki has to try hard not to giveaway the doubt that rises as he continueshis sentence. "It will not come to that. I will rid us of her as soon as I can." At saying this, he feels Road's stare as it bores through him.

"Very well then," the Earl agrees and twirls Lero around. "I'll take a walk now if you don't mind. See you children back home." With that last farewell, the giant, round man turns around and starts his way through the forest humming to himself the same tune that Road had been torturing the General with.

* * *

_I need a smoke._

Tyki thought as he finally sets Reina's sleeping body on the bed in her room. Not even bothering to let the maids change her, he sets her on it and backs off. Grabbing a cigarette from his pocket and the matches, he lights it and finally lets out the frustration of his day.

As he lets the puffs of smoke waft through the air, Tyki lets his eyes wonder through the room that has now become hers. The personal items are few but by their position and languid placement he can tell just what her personality's shown him so far.

Tidy yet disorganized.

Regal but not condescending.

Simple and charming.

_Just like her._

Now isn't the best time for those kind of thoughts. Ones that had been happening more often than not for some reason. Despite how infuriating she comes out to be at times, all the rest of her just overshoots and surpasses those flaws.

She's imperfect but without knowing compensates for it perfectly.

"Thinking about how you're gonna drop the bomb on her?"

Closing his eyes again and letting out the smoke from his mouth, he didn't even turn to recognize Road as she came through the door. But he can't just not answer her. "What do you mean?"

"That you're going to leave her with your human friends?"

_She knows?_

Of course she does.

"Just going to leave a stray back where it belongs, no?"

"Well, even if you do I'll just go ahead and hunt her down." Tyki's golden eyes now travel to his niece who walks ever so slowly to the other side of the bed and bends down to gaze at the sleeping face of the older girl.

"Why hunt her when she won't be a problem?"

"Maybe she won't be but I still don't like her." Road never lifts her gaze and instead brushes away a strand of ebony hair from Reina's face. "She's…a despicable human."

The fact that Road was being overly interested in Reina, despite the negative attention, meant that something had ticked her off about the older girl since they met. Road didn't just hate without reason, much less hate this hard on someone. Yet he couldn't speak of any of this. If he wanted to play it nice and keep the girl alive long enough to take her back to Eeze and the others, he needed to be natural.

And what is more natural to their family than indifference.

"Making her any different from the rest, how exactly?"

"She knows the world, has seen its ugly layers and yet retains hope." Road twists one of Reina's ebony strands in her fingers before smirking. "She's been lucky enough to know the truth and yet shuns it. It's like she doesn't realize how many would kill to have that knowledge; to confirm that the world _is_ what it is and just get on with it." The hair on her finger is twisted to the point where it strains too far and Reina grimaces in her sleep.

"Road," Tyki spoke in a low voice as a warning. Hearing it loud and clear, Road simply lets go and raises her hands in a mocking surrender before turning to Tyki.

"Don't you think it despicable too? That even knowing all this she still has hope in this rotten world?"

Despicable wouldn't be the word he would use. Tyki has seen this of which Road spoke of. Even without knowing the full story, he could tell the Reina had a few issues of her own. Maybe more than a few but the amount didn't matter, the scars that they left did. And he could tell that those went deep enough to pain her as they did. Her whole demeanor practically oozed over defensiveness towards others yet completely disregarded herself.

That spoke volumes about her.

_She doesn't value her own life._

_**And yet she values the lives others. What kind of logic is that?** _

None that he knew but that such that a radical way of thinking and living even existed was something that he couldn't well ignore. It struck him as odd, yes, but at some other level it also struck him as fascinating.

Very much so.

"And I could find you another hundred if not thousands that think alike. It's a dime a dozen mentality. You shouldn't let it get over your head."

"Really?" Road's sudden question seems genuine yet condescending. One thing that he hated was being looked down upon. She sighs though and lets another smile crawl to her lips. "Well, if you say so, Tyki, then I suppose it's true. But I still will do it; a dime a dozen or not, it's fun to poke at these humans. Will you bring her back?"

"We'll see."

"I'll take that for what it's worth~" she coos in a sing song tone before skipping past him towards the door. "Take care then." The door clicks shut behind her and he finally let out the last nervous puff of smoke before hearing some shuffling before him.

He watches as Reina groggily awakes and gazes around the room as if confused. It's once she catches the sight of him standing in her room that a sudden light of realization comes to her eyes. The light was brief before an annoyed and angered look comes over her.

_She's mad?_

"You bastard…" she growls between gritted teeth and her words seeth with anger.

_Yep._

"Look before you even start to complain about—"

"You knocking me the fuck out?!"

"Yes, that. Know that if I hadn't the Earl and Road would've killed you off."

"Not like that's news," she scoffs but the glare never falters. She is really pissed off this time. "If you ever raise a hand against me again—"

"What'll you do?" Tyki asks with a coy smile of his own. "Threaten me?"

"Laugh all you want, Mikk." She's seething while she gets up from her bed ready to fight if she had to. "But just know that I may get mad but that's not the worst I can do. I don't get mad, just even."

_Isn't that true._

She'd done it before but now wasn't the time for that. But Tyki ignores this pseudo threat before putting his cigarette off on the ash tray on her little coffee table. "Whichever it might be, there won't be a need for that. That reminds me that you better get packing too."

"Like hell I am. You ain't dragging me to another one of your stupid missions."

Well, she learns _some_ lessons so she isn't a complete hopeless cause. Not where it counted but still…it's something.

"It ain't a mission, lil' queen."

It seems that his less eloquent form of speaking brought an air of understanding in her. She stood defensively yet with a new fresh aura of hope around her. "You mean…"

Tyki simply averted his gaze before he starts to walk out of the room but leaves her with a definite answer. "We're heading back."


	14. Chapter 14

_**Fourteen** _

**The Punishment**

* * *

The moment we got out of the train and the fresh air hit my lungs, I almost feel like I'm dreaming. I'm half expecting to wake up in my room inside the Kamelot's mansion but the sunlight kissing my skin, the soft breeze that brings some saltiness to my lips, and the nice scent of the German cuisine that wafts through the air just overfills me with joy.

_I love my freedom._

"Seems like ya missed all this, didn't ya?"

That snarky comment with the accentuated tone dampens my mood somewhat and I turn to him with a glare. "You and your crazy family are to blame. Keeping me cooped in there by myself is insane."

"If you would behave, that'd be a whole other story." The smirk on his lips kills me.

These past few days have been hell. Like Tyki had promised before, after packing our things, we walked a few miles out and took the next train that headed south. It was a trip of three days and two nights in that train with the prick that had not only knocked me out but had also tried to murder me before and had blatantly said how done he was with me. And yet if one could see us now and the way he so nonchalantly acted they would think that I'm the paranoid one.

Tyki clearly hasn't changed. He's the same stupid and street-wise hobo that I met around a year ago. It's like he's drawn this clear line between the man he is here and the mass murderer that he is with the Earl and that Noah Family of his.

And now that we're here in Bergeson and close to where the others are, I have to learn to cope with this maniac by my side and act like nothing's wrong when everything clearly is. It takes us about another hour to get to the county line and I spend it holding my silence. Tyki clearly notes this but has a field trip bugging the crap out of me. When he points at the residence that they took up for the time being in this month long job, I run ahead of him and open the unlocked door.

The moment that my eyes catch sight of Momo, Clark, and Eeze, the last one gets up from his place and runs at me. He literally jumps for me to catch him in my arms and I drop everything I have to do just that.

"Welcome back, Rei-nee!" The pure sound of his voice makes all those horrible memories from the mansion vanish in thin air as I hold him close to me. I'm never letting go again. He raises his head and his eyes turn to who's unfortunately behind me. "Tyki!"

"We're home!" he cheerfully announces before putting our stuff in one of the worn down couches.

"And here we thought lil' queen had bailed on us," Momo joked around but is clearly happy that we're back.

"Ha, told ya she wouldn't. Pay up!" Clark teases and makes me laugh. Oh, how I missed this.

"I missed you," Eeze says, holding tightly to me as I carry him back in my arms a bit hunched over.

I snuggle my cheek against his before planting a sweet kiss on his forehead. "I missed you too, _amor._ "

"We missed your cooking most of all," Clark comments as I sit down with Eeze on my lap and Tyki takes the sit next to Momo while saying their manly helloes.

"You guys haven't been eating?" I ask while turning to face Eeze who shakes his head.

"We have," he replies rather quickly. "But it's never as good as yours."

The compliment makes me smile because it only adds to their already spoken sentiment of having missed me these past three weeks. A giddiness takes over me that makes me get up while leaving Eeze my seat. "Well! I'm back and to celebrate the _great_ pay that Tyki and I got, how about we get ourselves some good ingredients and make a feast!" The roar of agreement hits my ears pleasurably. Everyone cheers except Tyki who only smiles but with a noticeable twitch on his jaw. I give him an inconspicuous grin before the guys follow behind me as we head out to the market. He has no option but to follow behind them and that just visibly pisses him off as well.

_I get even, baby._

We spend a good half an hour picking out the food and it takes another one to make it once we're back. But it goes fast while the boys tidy themselves and Eeze takes over for me to do the same. By the time I'm out of the shower and in some more comfortable clothes—shorts and a neat shirt—Eeze already has the table set and we just work on serving everybody just at eight. We eat our fill while in the midst of idle chatter that I didn't know I had missed so much during these three weeks.

The contrast between the two 'households' is very much apparent now.

The Noah may call themselves a family but they're anything but. They use each other as cohorts to deal out their evil plans. They are a family of tools and everyone below them are simpletons not to mention normal. They're hostile towards one another besides aloof and cold.

My little family here, though, is warm in every sense of the word. They care about each other and they put themselves atop everything else. Yes, they may cheat in cards to get some easy money or even lie about their other habits but they're hard workers to the bone and care a lot about each other.

The differences are plain as day and I'd rather be here than go back there ever again.

Dinner ends close to nine and I'm about to go wash the dishes when Eeze comes to me. "What's up?"

He seems sheepish and I can tell he's hiding something behind his back. Finally opting to show me, though, he pulls out what looks like a book, a thick one at that. "Mind reading with me?"

"Of course, honey," I say taking the book from his hands and looking at the spine for the title. When I see none I turn to ask him. "Where'd you get this from?"

"Tyki brought it back with him! I asked him to bring me a book so that I could read it with you, Rei-nee!" I smile at the sentiment but can't help but wonder if Tyki had taken this from the library at the Kamelot's. The thought quickly escapes my mind, though, because I sincerely didn't care.

"Sure, just let me wash the dishes first. Go get ready for bed and I'll be right there—"

"You can go ahead." Tyki's sudden retort comes to my ears a moment before he grabs the book from my hands and gives it back to Eeze. "Go with Eeze and read 'im that. I'll take care of them dishes."

A frown that I hide from Eeze forms on my face but Tyki only smiles. Turning to Eeze, though, I tell him I'll help Tyki out before going to the room to read together. He sees nothing wrong with that and leaves happily to the room that we're to share. When I turn around, Tyki's already lathing the dishes which leaves me no other option than rinsing them. Once he has enough, I can finally start rinsing them off.

The silence between us is utterly piercing. Neither of us tries to make any idle talk…at least that's what I thought in the beginning.

"Feeling better now, pooch?"

The insult's out with ease now that I have the liberty to say it. "Shut your fucking mouth."

"Hostile much?"

"You're a dick for believing that I would even talk to you if we were ever alone," I say not taking my eyes away from the cold water that's spilling over the dishes as I rinse them.

"Why'd you stay then?"

"To see if your tiny brain received that information clearly. And if not to make it clear to you that outside of the group, I will not be uttering a single word to you."

His hands suddenly obstruct the water from falling as he washes the soap off from his hands. "Is that it then? You're getting even with a fancy dinner that I got to pay out of my own pocket and the cold shoulder?"

I give no answer hence answering his question. He chortles and that throws me back a bit. He finds this funny?!

_What are you talking about, Reina. Of course he does._

But I give the thought no mind and instead focus on finishing the dishes so I can head over to Eeze and sleep well and in peace tonight. But I take my eyes off the bastard for a second too long. I thought he had already left having already finished but he's a sly motherfucker.

The heat from his body hits me the moment he stands too close to my back. The whole place is darkened because everyone is in their rooms and the only light that hits is from the moonlight that enters through the window to our left. And by simply looking at the corner of my eye, I could see his imposed shadow over mine.

It's when my hands are full with a chipped ceramic plate that I feel the sudden coldness that brushes against my exposed thighs. It takes me so much by surprise that I almost drop the plate but grab hold of it tightly before it falls and breaks. We take these everywhere we go. I can't let them break.

But I'm so distracted by the plate that I don't realize that Tyki's trailed his hands up from my legs to my hips as he begins to slide his cold hands up my stomach. The moment I feel them though I immediately let go of the plate and reach up to stop his hands from moving past my abdomen. But mine are slippery and cold and make me flinch at the iciness that touches my bare skin.

It's when I feel the hot breath from his lips at my ear along with the haughty and deep chuckle that something in me melts. "Trying to play tough?"

"S-Stop." My voice comes out broken and weak as his hands continue their soft and teasing ministrations across my exposed stomach. I try hard to push them off me but he's much better at keeping them on not to mention that mine keep slipping.

"Do you really want me to?" he whispers and nibbles at my earlobe making my breath slightly hitch. His left arm raises to my throat and cradles me with his arm across my shoulders. His arm slid against my body so he brings my shirt up giving more leeway for his large hands to explore.

The sudden haziness that takes over my mind is something I'm familiar with but haven't felt since the last time I was with Jaden. Ever since my first intimate moments with Jade, we both noted something oddly peculiar about me: my body is overly sensitive. It was the same reason why back in the library I reacted so out of the norm. Things that I feel touch me are always so acute to my senses. It's why I hate the seasons; mildly hot days are hell and those tepid cool mornings are a freezer.

And Tyki's touch now, as his hands rise to tease at the top edge of my brassiere, is sending me into a crazed haze. I still have a tinge of self-control to try and pry his arm from it. He's quick to distract me though when he slowly uses his hand to tilt my head aside. I feel his hot breath on the hollow of my neck a second before his lips start tracing butterfly kisses up and down my skin.

Everywhere he touches gets ignited and a sudden need for more starts to pit in my stomach. My mind's reeling out of control and fast. His hands lost their coldness and are now hot as one traces patterns in my bare stomach and the other on my collarbone as it gently reaches downward. His lips send bursts of electricity every time they softly touch my neck and they make me shudder. But the worst that just makes me that much more wet is that his fingers have finally dug beneath the satin garment and hold my breast gently in his large hand.

A deep moan comes to my throat when he starts teasing my nipple. By now I'm lost in an ecstasy that's obliterating my mind. I can't believe he's tearing me apart like this and so easily at that.

My thoughts are jumbled but I can't recall one time that I've become so lost in the heat of the moment like this. It was as if Tyki calculated his every stroke. Every single one was made precisely and with a purpose: to drive me insane.

I don't care at this point that his other hand is trialing down from my stomach and reaching my shorts to undo them. What's driving my mind insane now is how painfully slow his hand is trailing down. Finally I get so tired of his teasing that my hand comes to his wrist with the intention to push it down completely when a sudden voice stuns us both.

"Rei-nee?"

Luckily, before I can make any sudden noise, Tyki's hand comes up from my breast and covers my mouth and nose fully. Yet his other hand lingers where I pushed it to.

My sense of mind is back; I can finally think more clearly thanks to Eeze scaring us but I can't do anything. Tyki's holding me way too tightly and much too intimately to simply push him away and let Eeze see me like this. I can't risk that.

"What's wrong, Eeze?" Tyki finally asks and his voice is normal. No, wait. Not exactly. It sounds like he's fine but underneath it I can hear a faint roughness. A hoarseness that's hard to catch but I heard it with my ear so close to his throat.

"I'm getting sleepy and Rei-nee hasn't come to read with me yet."

That finally hit me with guilt. Plus anger for this idiotic fool who made me stoop this low and ignore Eeze. The innocent thought evaporates into thin air, though, when one of the tips of his fingers brushes against me through my panties. The shriek that comes out is muffled completely by Tyki's hand. My hands instantly come to the hand that covers my mouth so that I can tell him to stop.

_God damn it, Mikk! Not now! Eeze's here for goodness sake!?_

"It's all right, bucko. I'll get her to come and read you some of that book tonight, okay?" When he hears Eeze agree, he quickly continues with both the conversation and his long and slow strokes. "Then go wait in bed, Eeze. I'll send her as soon as I can."

"Thanks, Tyki," he says and I hear his feet trotting away and when I finally hear the door close, a grand relieve washes over me.

"Wow," Tyki says in my ear with a low and husky voice. The hand he has over my mouth doesn't come down but the one he has underneath my shorts moves in deeper and a small cry escapes my throat. "Can't believe you got even wetter during all that. Where you that excited at the possibility of being found out?"

"No…" but my voice isn't loud enough to come across from his hand. I'm losing my mind again when his finger keeps touching me but never really goes _in_ me. Out of the blue, I notice my hips moving on their own trying to edge him closer and let him slip a finger inside. Tyki seems to notice this though and avoids me every time. He's teasing me. No, this is beyond that. It's plain torture.

"If you want me to all you have to do—" his voice resonates with its guttural tone and I can tell he isn't just teasing me for the sake of it. He's enjoying it too. He's getting off on it. And that just makes it even better. "—is ask."

At finishing that last word, he releases his hand from my mouth and I gasp loudly when his finger nudges against me even deeper and all through the thin piece of clothing.

My mind's slipping again. My body's trying to take control. It just feels so _good._

Past and present get mixed in my mind and a single name comes out from my lips in the quietest whisper.

"Jade…"

_Jaden?_

The single thought kills every lustful emotion that my body and mind had concocted and instead jump out of his reach a few feet away. My breathing's ragged and my hands immediately start putting my clothes back in place.

The heat that I feel rush to my face is undeniable. And the one thought that halted everything keeps repeating in my head to calm myself down.

Jaden's waiting for me. He loves me. And he's waiting for me to come back just like Mom, Dad, and Kat. I can't break down now and let them have the better of me. Especially not this.

"I'm not doing this," I whisper aloud more for myself than to him. My head shakes and I give him one last glance. The cold aloofness that I see behind those glasses throws me back.

_He's playing you._

This ignites a whole different fire in me. Before he can catch what my intentions are, I skip forth and give him a solid punch to the gut. He doubles a bit while grabbing it and grunting at the sudden attack. He has no time to retort or do anything because I'm already running to the room that Eeze and I share.

I open the door and slam it closed before locking it.

"Rei-nee?" Eeze's groggy voice catches me off guard. I thank that he's turned off the light but I can still distinguish him as he sits up from the bed and rubs his eyes.

"Oh, E-Eeze. Sorry, I woke you up."

"I was just dozing off. Are you going to read?"

"Yeah, just give me a second," I tell him before slipping into the bathroom that's in the room. Letting myself rile down from that heated moment, I wash my face, clean myself up and dress into my sleeping shorts and shirt before coming out.

Outside, Eeze is having a hard time staying up and I feel even worse for making him stay up for so late. Coming up to him, I grab the covers and snuggle next to him before covering ourselves up. Once we're comfortable—me laying down with some pillow behind me to prop me up and him snuggling up against me—I grab the book that's on the nightstand and open it to the first page. I'm barely two pages in when I hear his slow and steady breathing signaling that he's deep in slumber. My eyes flutter now and then but I keep awake for some time while reading to myself.

But no matter how much I read, I can't get those horribly _amazing_ feelings that Tyki flared in me. The pit starts to build up again but before it drives my mind into the gutter, nature takes over and I fall asleep.

* * *

Tyki knew that from how tired she was, Reina wouldn't last the hour awake. So once he couldn't hear anything but soft breathing from the other side, he used his powers to pass right through the door of Eeze and Reina's room to find them asleep as he thought.

He walks up to both of them from the side of the bed. Eeze is curled up on Reina with his hands wrapped around her waist. She has a protective arm on the kid and the other holds the book he had brought for Eeze as it lays on her chest.

_Lucky boy._

The thought is fleeting and so is the grin that accompanies it. He comes closer and simply glances down at the little woman that now seems the most vulnerable. Inside his pants' pocket, his hands keep fisting and undoing themselves recalling the sensations of her luscious skin. Every small touch and sweet kiss he did unto her that simply unraveled her so deliciously. And that just left him wanting to see _even_ more.

When Tyki did his little teasing at the library a few weeks back, he thought that the sudden rush to continue was just a fluke; something that had happened from the lustful moment. But since that time, he couldn't keep his thoughts away from her. Call it lust or whatever, but he just wanted to see more. And he wanted the one to undo her.

Careful to not wake her, Tyki takes the book that rests on her bosom and closes it before putting it on the night stand. The sudden movement makes Reina grimace as she shifts and accommodates better to Eeze, in the end hugging him closer to her.

How he envied the little kid.

There was nothing that he wanted more than to ravage Reina's body and soul to make her scream in ecstasy. To torture her with every stroke, lick, and kiss until she begged him to be his.

_**And yet she uttered the name of another.** _

He was furious at that. Although barely audible, Tyki heard her clearly say that one name. The same one that she had said many times before. Must have been a lover or something. One who touched her like he had… _perhaps all the way._

And that thought just lighted a fury in him. At that single thought Tyki wished he could know who it was that took her attention from him so that he could shred the little twerp to pieces.

But that man was nowhere near Reina and Tyki was adamant to keep it that way. Perhaps he was beginning to regret saying he would leave Reina back here with the others. If he left her alone there was the slight chance that they could reunite and goodness knew what would happen after that.

_Bringing her back with me doesn't sound like such a bad idea anymore._

Tyki's sudden train of thought goes away when Reina grumbles something in her sleep. Her face scrounges but quickly goes back to a peaceful expression. He chuckles before deciding to leave the room and let the two rest for the night.

* * *

The weeks go by without an incident afterwards. Tyki and I seldom speak to each other unless we're with the others and I never again let us be alone in the same room. That doesn't mean that what happened that night goes away so easily. I somehow manage to keep that aside from everything else as I fall back into a blissful routine.

Momo, Clark and Tyki take up to their work and Eeze and I go back to taking care of the household. Eeze tells me how they've managed now that I've been _hired_ by the company that hired Tyki. He tells me that Tyki called to tell them about how I had been accepted to work with him and that I wouldn't be home for a few weeks. And just like that they accepted it.

And despite how much it angered me that he had used such simple excuse to fool them, I couldn't open my mouth and say anything. Tyki had already threatened me with bodily harm were I to even utter a word about his _work_. Then again I doubt anybody would believe me if I said anything.

But the weeks went on as oblivious as before just that the ones oblivious to everything were the others and not me. I missed those days. The month of work ended pretty quickly and soon we needed to head out to the next town. Thankfully it isn't that far of a train ride from where we are.

So we go on and head to the train that will take us to Kirilenko. Once inside, Eeze, Tyki and I take one side—Eeze conveniently placed between us by me—while Momo and Clark take the other. They start talking about nonsensical stuff while I start watching the scenery outside.

A yawn suddenly escapes me and catches Eeze's attention. "You're tired?"

"Didn't sleep much last night. I stayed up finishing that book," I say and chuckle at seeing the pout he gives me. "Sorry but it was getting too interesting."

"You should sleep." Tyki says and I grimace a bit.

"Yeah, it's few hours to Kirilenko," Momo agrees.

"I'll wake you," Eeze says and that just assures me that I should.

"Mm. Don't do anything dumb," I retort and my sight goes to the three grown kids. "And by that, I mean you three."

"We would never," Clark replies with a smirk and Momo and Tyki just laugh alongside him. I shake my head before laying it against the cool window and letting the soothing stride of the train drift me off to sleep.

The sudden shaking of my shoulder makes me swat at whatever wants to wake me. My brain really needs this rest so I ignore the person again when they shake me.

"Rei-nee."

_Eeze._

When I can finally will myself awake, I turn groggily to the kid that smiles through his eyes. Smiling back, I ask him why he woke me and he simply turns to the small corridor between the seats. My eyes follow and I simply sigh frustrated at the sight.

_Of course, he wouldn't wake me for some stupid reason._

"Why are you three…playing?"

"Morning, lil'queen!" Momo is the first to call and looks up from his hand of cards.

"We got bored and this happened," Clark justified and plays his turn.

"Wanna join?" Tyki is the last to say anything with that smirk of his. Wish I could wipe it off his face…with a punch.

"Nah-uh," I clearly state before turning to boringly stare at their childish play with Eeze doing the same beside me. "I don't play with cheaters."

They all act hurt as if I just said the most offensive thing in the world. Perhaps they're offended because it's true. "C'mon, lil'queen!" Clark boasts in a chuckle. "It's just for fun! What harm's there in that?"

"That's exactly the excuse you gave me that one time you guys conned those poor workers out of their money." The point I make makes them cringe a bit but they keep playing. A sigh escapes my lips and I bring Eeze closer. "Do what you want just don't involve Eeze or I."

They cheer to themselves and continue to play. Eeze looks up to me from his seat. "Do you know how to play poker, Rei-nee?"

"Yeah but I abstain from it," I reply with an uninterested look at the trio as Clark wins the round. "It's a habit that can easily grow into an addiction."

"And yet you let us do it!" Tyki calls from his place as the others agree.

"Like I said, do what you want." My mind begs for me to go back to sleep. I'm almost close to complying when the sound of the sliding doors that separate the cabin rattle open and take my attention away.

The man that comes through it is dressed quite oddly even for me. He kind of reminds me of Count Von Count without the goatee. Tyki and the others start to talk to him and eventually reel him into betting on cards against them.

_Poor sucker._

But if I come in between and stop them, they'll make me play and I don't want that. So Eeze and I simply watch as they strip the man from his garments one by one with each lost round. The pity quickly goes away at seeing what a simpleton this man is. He had to be if he can't see that they're cheating him out of his belongings. They finally have him down to his underwear and I can tell from here how the man's freezing and feel a little bad for him.

Just then I get distracted by the door opening a second time. This time around it is two young men that come over; a red-head with an eyepatch and a boy with snow white hair. They both strike me as weird but the boy with the white hair even more not only because of said hair but because of the odd scar that runs along the left side of his face.

_So peculiar. So familiar too._

"Sorry," Tyki announces with his heavy accented voice and with a grin. "Right now, young kids aren't allowed to enter here."

The two seem to be friends of the old man that the three were cheating off. Tyki and the others egg the man on trying to get him to finish what he started. The instant I'm about to tell them to stop is when the white-haired boy interferes. He shoves his jacket in front of them and tells them that he's willing to bet it—the jacket having silver linings and buttons—for everything that his friend had lost.

_Really? Young boys are dumb._

But as he dangles the coat before them, I catch a good glimpse of it. There's something familiar about their attire. At looking at the redhead, I note that he's wearing something similar. A uniform of sorts of black and silver.

_Where have I seen that before?_

But before I can even deduce my imaginary thoughts, Tyki accepts the bet and the kid sits on to play. The guys ooze an air of confidence knowing that they won't lose and a sigh escapes me.

Poor boy has no idea the pounding he's in for.

* * *

"Well, would you look at that."

"Wipe that smirk off your face, lil'queen."

"Oh but correct me if I'm wrong here—" I point at the hand that the white-haired boy just placed atop the suitcase they had been using as a table for the last seven rounds. "Isn't that a royal straight flush?"

The boy's sweet smile mimics mine in intent. "I win again."

The guys throw a tantrum the second he declares this and start gossiping about how their cheating ways failed them for once. They had underestimated him and I quite frankly don't blame them. The boy looked as innocent as could be; there's really no blaming all of our assumptions.

"Damn it! One more time!"

"Really." Finally I turn away from what would surely be another loss for them and instead look out through the window. Some signs begin to come across and I catch the sight of one signaling the next station: Kirilenko. The sudden burst of anger from the guys makes me jump slightly startled. Already I'm tired of their obstinacy and finally catch their attention. "Guys—" They turn to me and I try hard to suppress the laugh that wants to come out. They're so cold without their clothes that their noses are running. At the nasty looks, I clear my throat but Eeze giggles in my stead. I point with my thumb out towards the window. "Our stop's coming up next."

Once the train stops, I take my belongings and some of Eeze's—the few I managed to snatch away from the guys before they lost them too—and grab Eeze by the hand to get out with him. The guys follow behind me and I feel a little bad for them but they brought this upon themselves.

_Rip what you sow._

But before we head on our way, I hear the boy's voice again calling out to us. "Here you go." We turn to find him with the suitcases and the stuff they lost in his hand and him reaching out to give it to them. "I don't care as long as I get back what's my friend's. It's hard to be naked this time of year, isn't it?"

The three try to act cool but their personalities come out when they're already reaching out for their stuff shamelessly. As the guys quickly change back to their clothes, Tyki thanks him for the kind act. Out of the blue, I feel Eeze let go of my hand as he walks over to the boy with something in his hand that he pulled out of his pocket.

"Thanks," he says and holds out his hand. What is he giving him?

"Eeze, that's your treasure!" Tyki calls and pulls Eeze back while looking for something to give the boy instead. My hands come over Eeze's shoulders to pull him closer to me and away from the tracks. "Wait, wait, I have something to give him instead."

"It's really not necessary," the boy assures just as the horn of the train blares. Eeze and I back away a bit to be a safe distance away from the train that starts to move slowly on. Just then I notice that Tyki finally finds what he was looking for.

"Here!" he shouts and tosses a deck of cards at the boy who swiftly catches it. "Please let us off with that, okay?" he shouts and gives a goofy grin to the boy before the train disappears behind the tunnel.

Before I know it, Tyki plants a hand on Eeze's head and ruffles his hair. "Keep that safe, Eeze. I went through a lot of trouble to get you that big chunk of silver."

_Silver?_

Eeze nods and stares down at the makeshift necklace; a round piece of silver attached to a leather cord. The more I stare at it the more I feel like I've seen it before. He turns it in his hand and I see letters etched on the back. The moment my eyes read the engraving, I almost shout.

_Kevin Yeager…the General?!_

"Tyki! Eeze! Reina!" Momo's sudden call makes all of us turn to the two that go on ahead of us. "Let's hurry up and introduce ourselves to the factory owner and go get some dinner!"

"Okay!" Eeze answers for all of us. I'm so tongue-tied that I can't do much except watch as Eeze puts it over his neck and under his shirt before coming to grab my hand and take me to the others. He shifts his bag to the side and pulls me along to Tyki as he grabs his hand with the one he has free.

The ominous feeling from the necklace leaves me goosebumps but the sudden ringing of one of the public phones makes me literally jump in my skin. My hand goes to my heart that threatens to jump out of my chest and I will it to calm down.

Once calm, I realize what the call is for. The only one that goes on to answer is Tyki. The call is sweet and short. He turns to us and goofs around saying that it was his secret job calling. Momo and Clark dismissed it like always and continue walking on.

_Good riddance._

"Come on, Eeze." Grabbing him tightly by the hand, I start walking on behind them.

"Re-i-na." The honeyed tone that he speaks in makes me stop in my tracks and sends chills running down my spine. My eyes catch sight of him when I look over my shoulder and he simply smirks at me. "I'm going to need you for this one, too."

"That other boss has taken a liking to lil'queen too, hasn't he?" Clark calls with a smirk.

"That's good. The more you two work there, the better. Gives good grub that work."

"Yeah," I say through greeted teeth not wanting to let my emotions through in front of Eeze.

Tyki only grabs my shoulder with his hand and that only brings more dread to me. "Sorry, about this." But I know those words aren't for me. They're for them. Before they leave, I shake his hand away and come up to Eeze.

My hands come up to the muffler around my neck and swiftly take it off before gently wrapping it around his neck a few times. A warm smile comes to my lips and I plant a small kiss on his forehead. "Be well, all right? We don't want a repeat of last time."

"Yeah. I'll be more careful, Rei-nee. Take care of Tyki, too."

"Mm." The answer is small and barely comforting but he takes it. They start leaving but Eeze turns to look over his shoulder to tell Tyki something.

"Come back with some more silver for me, okay...?" The smirk that he gives the boy only sends chills down my spine.

Once they're well out of earshot, he turns to me before he speaks. "Well, shall we go?"

"Like I can say no." He chuckles at my words and I know he doesn't take it seriously. We walk out towards the tunnels where the trains had just left. Before reaching the entrance, I can already see his fatness standing on the other side. "Great..."

_Headaches, here I come._

Tyki blows off a puff of smoke before he calls out to him.

"Can I have dinner before I do this?"

"Sure you can." That voice is clearly his; damn that fat bastard. Tyki calls out his gratitude for he was starving and although I am too, I'm not fond of eating with this crazy family. "Ah, I see you've brought pooch back as well!"

Anger won't get me anywhere, I've learned that the hard way. But the restrained anger that I have comes through in the acerbic tone I speak in. "Please—" even when I'm polite, the poison slips from my lips. "Don't call me that."

As we walk through the tunnel, I can feel something working on the clothes on my body. It's him—that fatso. It wouldn't surprise me that like Road and Tyki he can do this and more. Especially with the powers they have; if they serve the Earl then his must be the worst. "Regardless of what our dearest pooch has to say, I expect you both to be dressed properly. You won't be allowed into Mitsuboshi looking like that."

"Wow." That slight chuckle in his voice is hard to miss. "You get so fat because you always eat things like that."

"I'm not fat."

"Well as long as I can eat, I don't care if it's food fit for a pig." His skin's—ah, I'm never going to get use to this.

"Make sure you watch your mouth, too." The Earl tosses the top hat at Tyki who catches it with ease. His once fair skin is now ashen and his attire completely changed. "Lord Tyki Mikk."

Tyki sweeps his gloved-hand across his hair bringing it back to reveal his face and the stigmata that came across his forehead before placing the hat atop his head. "Yes, yes." He tips the hat and glances over at me briefly. "As you wish, Millennium Earl." He gives me a smile that I've come to abhor before he offers his hand out to me. "Ready, pooch?"

"Stop calling me that." Nevertheless, I'm forced to grab his hand as he guides me to the Gate that the Earl opens.

Another chuckle escapes him and this time I don't hide my contempt. "If the shoe fits."

How I hate his condescending voice when he portrays this side of himself. I thought I was finally going to be able to put those dreadful days behind me but it seems I was hoping for too much. All that's left for me to do now is hold on until I can come back to Eeze. That's the only light at the end of this tunnel for me.

_Let's hope so, Reina. Let's hope so._

* * *

"What in the…"

"Yo, Tyki~" Road choirs as we enter the darkened room. "And pooch too! What a surprise. Hola to you too~"

"Hey," Tyki answers and notices the same thing as me. Books are littered near Road, one she has open on her lap reading and with a pencil at hand. We come closer to the table as servants start filing in and bringing dinner for us. He places his top hat on the table and I take my coat off to place it on the back of the chair I sit on. "What are you doing?"

"Can't you tell? I'm studying!" she calls. Tyki and I sit next to each other but I drag my chair as far as I can without getting too close to Road who sits on the other side. The Earl ends up sitting a bit across from me and even Lero floats around the table.

The Earl comes and takes his sit while answering too. "Her homework's due tomorrow, she said."

"Yeah, I'm cutting it close!" Road calls out a bit hysteric. "Help me."

_Wait, the reason we're here…?_

"I never went to school, damn it!" Tyki retorts really not liking that they brought him here for this.

"You can at least write, right?"

The Earl and Road get so into dragging him down that they actually leave me some peace to eat what was brought in. Mm, nice; ribs and mash potato. Some things just are better from their native land. But I get comfortable a little too soon because Road turns to me with a smile.

"You went to school, no?"

_Shouldn't she know?_

I still need to ask what she saw in my memories but I'll assume she knows the things that she asks with such a sardonic tone. "Finished most of it."

"Never studied more?" she asks while slowly scooching her chair in tiny jumps making the legs scratch against the tiles of the floor. The action makes me question her intentions. She's never been this clingy with me and it just makes me somewhat more aware of what she's doing and saying.

_Fool me once, shame on me._

_Fool me twice, and never again bitch._

Or something like that.

"Didn't have time. Wanted to do some things before returning."

"What did you want to study?"

The questions keep pouring and they just make me wary. "Medicine. Why the Q&A?"

"Just wanting to know what things you can answer!" She picked a book from the bunch and gave it to me. "Here! You can help with my Anatomy homework~"

Anatomy? Curious, I pick up the book while the fork is still in my mouth and skim through the tabbed pages. Pretty basic stuff. Even some that I remember from the medical school exam. "You'll do it, right? It'll count." It's simple and I can do it pretty fast so I accept.

The desserts brought in while I'm looking over the questions.

" _How many bones in the human body?"_ 206\. 270 if you count the newborns.

" _What's the most resilient bone in the human body?"_ Femur.

"Biggest human organ?" Skin.

The questions go on and I answer them just as easily. The habit from school where I tap the pencil as I think comes back as I take breaks from writing while reading the question. Silence quickly reigns over the dining room except for the occasional eating. I'm half way done with my chocolate cake by the time I'm done and toss the book her way.

"Finished."

"That was quick." Road takes it and skims through the answers while I finish my cake. "Nice! What else are you good at?"

"English?" I ponder to myself while remembering my high school days. "And some math."

"Good, here, do English!" Road says and simply tosses me the book. It takes me even less to finish the English one and I pass it to her. "Cool! You're more useful than Tyki~"

"Oi." A smirk comes to my lips at the compliment and I pass it along to him. He only holds back a grimace but continues his share of the work while the Earl and I pile book after book. After a while of work, I hear the Earl speaking to Tyki about the 'other' reason that he was brought here for. The Earl held a card up to him and explained that he wanted for him to go with him to an event. Tyki complained about the distance but had no time to do much of it when the Earl showed him another.

"Please 'delete' the people whose names I've listed."

The sudden change in mood hits like a hard wave washing over the room, it's not only tangible but I can clearly see it on Tyki's face. Something's up. "That's a lot," he comments after the brief expression passes over him. It seems I'm not the only one to notice because I can see Road's expression change as well. "Understood."

He quickly gets up and grabs his top hat. At this, I quickly get up from my chair and intend to follow him so that I don't have to stay stuck with these two but am quickly stopped.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?"

Road's words make me glance from her and the Earl to Tyki who's stopped in the middle of leaving. At the awkward stance, I begin to stutter a bit. "A-Am I not leaving with you?" I ask mostly speaking to Tyki now. He grimaces and looks away.

_No._

"Oh, on this job Tyki-pon won't have time to babysit you, pooch. So Road will be dog sitting until he comes back."

_Until…_

Meaning he will take time to return. And that means that I'll be staying with them until then. Hope sips from me with this new information.

_I won't last a day._

Defeated, I fall back to my seat. Tyki's footsteps ebb more and more but stop suddenly. "I want her intact if you don't mind."

"So long as it behaves," the Earl reminds us and I look up at these words. The instant I do, Tyki's eyes are locked with mine. Those golden irises just stare wordlessly but I get the message loud and clear.

" _Don't be stupid."_

"Well then, good luck with the homework."

"Tyki!" Road's sudden call makes me listen in. "Thanks for helping me."

He tips his hat and smiles. "We're family, after all." It's all he says before leaving me with the two, three if Lero counts.

"I wonder if Tyki finds it hard…" the Earl says contemplating a question that I've never thought about.

"Hard?" I whisper.

"Yes," Lero answers with a pencil in his mouth. "He's friends with the humans, after all."

"Well, you shouldn't call it 'hard'," Road explains with a malicious grin and gazes at me from the corner of her eye. "More like 'frightening', I'd say…" Those words hang over my head all the while we continue to do Road's homework.

Frightening. That he's able to kill humans when he has befriended some—I suppose that's what she meant by that. It's the only thing I can think of anyhow.

"That's the last of it," the Earl announces as he puts the last of her homework down. The dishes were long ago picked up and all that remained was the homework. It took us about a couple of hours and I had done most of the work not like they hadn't done much though. The fatso gets up and takes of the bandana that he had put at starting this endeavor. "I suppose I should take my leave as well."

"Already?" Road asks impishly. But I'm more than happy that he's leaving. The fewer of them I have to deal with the better it'll be for me.

"My apologies but there is work to be done," he says and gets Lero from his place. Before leaving he turns to us. "Do entertain yourself. We'll be back soon."

"Have a nice trip~" Road says with a gleeful tone and just like that the Earl disappears into an open dark door.

The silence that falls it tangible and it's choking me. My eyes look at everything except for Road who's finishing the last of her homework. But with a dreadful finality, she closes the book shut and turns to me. "Pick 'em up." It's a clear and crisp order but I've learned from before. I take a few seconds to judge whether she's playing me but when she tells me to hurry, I simply grab the workbooks that are laid around the table, stack them, and bring them along as she takes me out of the dining room.

The doors in this place—the Ark, I've heard them call it—seem to be sort of wormholes for their traveling. Just like Road's odd door from before, every door in this white city takes you to different spaces. She takes me through one of the many and this one leads to somewhere I recognize: a room in the Kamelot mansion.

_Must be her room._

That's what I deduce at least because I'm not aware of many people having such morbid decorations. At least where her dolls are concerned. They all look like actual people.

"Put them there." She points at the desk near the wall and I place them there neatly. Although I can't take being bossed around, I'm trying to keep myself alive and unharmed. If Road's the only one I have to deal with and there's no killing involved, I think I should be good until Tyki returns. "Now, I have some time to kill."

_May have spoken too soon there._

My eyes come to her as she watches me with a grin. She motions for me to go into the next room where a fireplace is burning, an armchair before it, and a shelf of books behind it. The room isn't small but it isn't that big either. It's just nice for one or two people.

Road skips over to be in front of the fireplace before lying flat on her stomach to play with the rag doll that lay there. When she sees me just standing there, she chastises me. "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to sit down?" I look at the chair and walk up to it and take a sit. It's comfy. "Now…tell me a story~"

"What?" The question is out before I can help it. Her request took me quite by surprise there.

"I saw that you tell stories to that human boy that goes around with you and Tyki." My memories. "So I want you to tell me stories too!" She halts in her playing with the doll and turns to face me. "But not pretty princesses and stuff. I want something more interesting! I want mystery and gore!"

_Sadistic much?_

But storytelling is something I can do. This reminds me much of One Thousand and One Nights, except the king is a little girl and I'm not married. She _will_ kill me though.

_Might as well come up with something._

But it's hard. I never really looked much into horror genres because Kat hates those stories. Jade was the only one that watched scary stuff but only through video games. Maybe that'd do.

"Well, I don't know many but—" I spend a few hours telling her stories, from short wife's tales to the plots of several horror games that I watched Jade played. Stories likes Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Leather Face, and Cannibal are some of the few I know. It's already going to be nine in the evening when I finish recounting Corpse Party. That was a game that gave me chills but I taught myself to not believe it. Now it just seems great that I know nothing of Road killing other little kids, or that she's a little ghost girl killer. "But during that vision, Ayumi discovered that the murderer hadn't been the principal's son, the teacher. It had been Sachiko one of the four kidnapped children. She had been the one to kill the other three and was the one who pointed the finger at the teacher. The case was closed but Sachiko, or her ghost, continued to hunt the dimensional school and continued to kidnap more kids who performed her ritual."

"Whoa," Road says fascinated by the story. She grins and then suddenly bursts into a fit of laughter. "That girl's great!" She's laughing so hard that tears are coming out of her eyes. "Too bad she's not real."

"Yeah, too bad," I concur but can't help but think that I might just be with a real life Shinozaki Sachiko here. Another glance at the clock tells me how late it's become. "Shouldn't we head back?"

"Huh?" Road looks up and pouts. "Tyki's not here anyway." She sighs though as if contemplating something. "But I suppose dog's need to sleep."

_Yeah, sure, let's go with that._

"But I have something to do first," Road says and that just bursts my bubble about finally getting some rest from this unusually tiring day. She turns to me with a grin and brings up her finger. "I'll be back to take you there, so don't do anything stupid. Okay?"

There's no answer except for a nod that I give her. With that said and done, she leaves me to my lonesome inside the small room. There's not much to entertain myself with but I keep busy as much as I can. The tiredness I feel though catches up quick and a yawn escapes me as I'm looking through the shelves of books.

_When are you coming back, Tyki?_

" _Feeling lonesome?"_

That voice…

"You've got guts to show yourself after guiding me to this crazy family," I tell the disembodied man that I've grown to abhor since our first meeting.

" _Is that really the way to speak to your savior?"_

"Savior of what?" I hiss under greeted teeth. "You put me in this loony bin!"

" _True but I can get you out too."_

A sudden change in pressure behind me makes me turn to see the door from which we came in as it begins to glow around the margins. The light's faint and silver but ebbs into a gentle glow that surrounds the door.

"What's this about?"

" _An exit. You wanted one, no? To look for_ Tyki _."_

The way he says his names concerns me. I don't know if I should mistake it for sarcasm or not. "You can take me to him?"

" _That door will lead to where he is. But it's a limited time offer. I can't keep it open for long. You've got three seconds."_

Stay here and wait for Road or go looking for Tyki?

" _Three."_

_You were told not to cause trouble._

" _Two."_

Since when do I listen to rules, really? And I'm guessing I'll be much safer with him than with anybody else.

" _One."_

At hearing this I sprint the short distance to the door and push it open to let myself through. Without anything to break my fall, I fall face first and eat the grass beneath me.

_Grass?_

Spitting out the chunks of it, I turn a split second before I see one of those Ark doors the Earl calls close behind me. But it didn't look like the ones he uses. This one was white. It soon disappeared, though, leaving me stranded in what seems to be a forest. Except…the trees aren't really trees. I get up from the ground and dust myself before going to touch one of the _trees._

"Bamboo?" Never seen one in my life but I've seen movies. I'm in a bamboo forest…at night.

_That man said he'd send me to Tyki. He must be somewhere close then._

With that in mind, I start walking aimlessly in the silent, dark thicket. It's a walk of a few minutes of silence until I see something in the distance. A pair of silhouettes sitting or kneeling before each other; I can't tell. But they're there.

Silently and slowly, I walk close enough to get a better glance. My breath hitches and my heart drops at the sight.

A young boy—injured maybe?—is kneeling before a white carcass. I'm about to say something when it suddenly erupts like a volcano and spurts blood everywhere. I'm not close enough to get showered but the sight of it gets me all the same. From across the boy and not that far away from me another silhouette appears hidden in darkness.

"No-Noah…" the boy says. Only then do I notice who's there.

_Tyki._

"Come, Tease." At his command, those creepy butterflies surface from the splattered blood and form a pair of hurricanes that lash out towards him. Tyki simply catches them in the palms of his hand. He comments on how it's grown before another butterfly comes from his palms. This one is quite different and much more grotesque. It's large enough for me to see from where I am.

The boy suddenly bursts out. "You…!? What did you do…?"

When Tyki finally recognizes him too, there's a moment where he slips into his goofiness and starts a one-sided chat with the boy. The kid's as mortified as I am. If he knows what the Noah are then he might know how dangerous they can be.

I miss a piece of the conversation as they start to talk more privately. But Tyki must have said something inappropriate because the boy suddenly swung his limp arm along and bitch slapped Tyki. The latter seems surprise for about a second before he's calm again. Another chat I can't really hear starts.

But I want to listen in, so I slowly step forward and finally stop when I can hear their voices more clearly. I catch the conversation when Tyki's speaking. "The Tease are just a tool. _My_ ability…is this." Without any warning, Tyki thrusts his hand straight through the boy's chest. The action itself made me catch my breath but my hands come up to muffle the noise.

He isn't bleeding though. He briefly starts explaining his powers; they make him capable of choosing what he wants to touch. That leaves me speechless. I've known about Tyki's phasing powers but I didn't know they could even go through human beings. He's even threatening to pull the boy's heart out without cutting him.

But the boy doesn't falter. That in itself amazes me. Apparently, it shocks Tyki a bit before it becomes unamusing. He complains that he might get dirty if he does that and instead pulls out a card from his sleeve.

"Tell me, boy," he asks, a smile plain on his face. "Are you, perhaps, Allen Walker?"

The quickness of the following events take me by surprise. This boy—Allen—is one of the ones that the Earl told him to delete; that little card he has confirms it. Then out of the blue, Tyki grabs onto the boy's neck before swiftly grabbing his blackened arm. A surge of energy bursts from the palms of his hand severing the limb from him.

The boy lays mortified—just like me—on the ground. Tyki goes on to say some things about the Heart—it must be the one that he and Road were looking for when they targeted the General that other time. He says that as a core, if one of the Innocence—whether Allen's or 'Suman's'—is the Heart, the others will vanish.

He goes to the severed black arm that lays on the dirt ground. An electric charge of power crackles before striking the arm. Deafening screams fill my ears. It's the boy yelling for him to stop. But just as that plead reaches the top of his lungs, the arm bursts into tiny pieces and leaves a cross-shaped green gem in Tyki's hands. Without hesitation, he crushes it in his palm.

The boy seems devastated and empty after witnessing this. Tyki whines that it wasn't it. He starts then heading for the other that lays behind the kid. Before he can grab it, though, what looks like a golden bird gulps it down and flies off into the horizon.

"Oh well, my current job is to assassinate all of the important people anyway."

A sudden loud and blaring sound pierces my brain at those words.

_He's going to kill him? Even after he's not the one with that Heart?_

Why kill pointlessly? I don't get it!?

Tyki takes a brief pause and it gives my brain enough time to ponder about the situation.

_I have to do something._

No, you don't.

My eyes land on the boy who simply lays there with a smile, his eyes watching after the glint of gold. "Thank you, Tim…" He sounds like he's…given up living.

_There's nothing you can do, Reina._

That's not true. Or maybe it is. But I don't care or give it another thought any longer.

In the span of seconds that takes me to sprint to them, all I see are those mesmerizing pair of golden irises for a mere instant. But that brief moment shows me the confusion and shock he has. That's enough time for me to go before the boy and check his injuries. It's about all I _can_ do.

Where his arm is missing there's no blood but crevasses on his shoulder make it seem malformed or burned. His chest has no injuries either just like Tyki said. But I'm sure he has other injuries besides these because as my hand lays on his chest, a warmth pools on my palm that just turns quickly to a burning hotness.

Blood.

Without thinking, I put more pressure with both my hands to help with whatever bleeding he might have. I'm about to tell him that he'll be all right but stop short when my eyes meet his. I stare right into dancing mercury. A pair of eyes that seem just as dumbfounded as Tyki's.

"Run," he quietly pleads. But I won't leave.

"How did you get here?" Tyki seems to finally gain some composure, enough to notice that I really am here. Still keeping my hands over the boy's chest, I turn to face Tyki from my position. His expression quickly changes from that confusion into an annoyed look. "Doesn't matter. Get out of the way."

"No!" I cry out and stay put.

"Please, run!" the boy finally yells, begging with all the strength he has. But I'm not moving.

"You should listen to the boy," Tyki warns.

This time I finally stand up when Tyki takes some steps closer to us. My glare pierces through his and I don't falter from there. "No." This time my voice is quieter and sterner.

"You're beyond stupid if you're going to hinder my job."

"I'm not backing out." This time I say it with a resolution that I strongly feel. The same way that I was ready to fight when the General was put out, I'm ready to stand up for the boy when he can't fight. "I don't care who it is, I won't let any more lives go to waste if I can help it."

"But there's nothing you can do," he reminds me sourly. "You are just a human."

"So what!?" I yell with all the air in my lungs. "That changes nothing! I will do everything in my power even if I _am_ just a human."

He steps close enough to close the space between us but I don't back down. His hand reaches behind my hand to brush my hair. A chill runs down my spine.

"I still think you're ridiculously naïve."

" _ **Watch out!"**_

The boy's warning resonates in my ears a few seconds after I feel a piercing sensation behind my head. It quickly feels like something's crawling beneath my skin. A disgusting feeling. Before I can say or do anything more, my consciousness slips into black in a flash.

* * *

"What a burden." Tyki sighs and catches Reina before she falls face first against him. Not wanting to carry her, he leaves her aside on the dirt ground.

"She's an innocent! Don't kill her!" Allen Walker's yells of desperation reach his ears like a sore reminder of his presence. He should really get his job done. But he answers the boy's demand in a low whisper to himself.

"Believe me, couldn't if I wanted to." He turns to the boy and buries the Tease in his heart for it to make a hole. Let the boy suffer a slow death as he drowns in his own blood, he says. The golem concedes and punctures Allen's heart. Tyki draws his hand back and pulls off the button on his coat. He bids the boy goodnight and spills the cards onto his lifeless body.

* * *

_Really, what a burden._

That's all Tyki could think as he brought Reina's unconscious body into the room of the Ark. He still couldn't understand how she found his way to him but knew that he couldn't let her get in the way. A part of him also didn't want for her to see what exactly he did. That was the reason as to why he implanted a Tease in her brain for brief seconds. The golem inside her head disconnected and kept the neurons from firing. Only enough to bring her unconscious, at least.

Now he placed her on the armchair before the fireplace and let her head rest on the side of the chair. Stripping himself of his hat and coat, he took out a cigarette to light it. Taking a swig from it and letting the smoke out, he couldn't help but think about what she'd done.

Standing so defiantly against him even after knowing what he could do. Even if she knew what he did—that for some reason his powers couldn't 'choose' on her—he was still more than capable of killing her if he wanted to.

But what astonished him the most were the things she'd said.

" _That changes nothing! I will do everything in my power even if I am just a human."_

How could she be so confident in herself when she knew she was no match against any of them? Road's words from before came back to him as well. He now understood his niece. It was frustrating to see that hope and not be able to pinpoint its origin.

"Ty~ki!"

_Speak of the devil._

He turns towards the door to see Road come out with Lero in her hands. She wears a bright grin on her face and her eyes wonder from him to Reina and back again.

"You're in big trouble," she says and skips over to his side. From the door she came through, the Earl comes out.

_Oh yeah, I am._

"Taking a break?" he asks with a honeyed tone that Tyki doesn't miss. He takes another nervous swig from his cigarette. The Earl's sight lands on the sleeping girl that Road keeps poking with Lero. "You brought it back after it interfered?"

"I can explain—"

But before he can, the Earl raises his hand to silence him. Tyki freezes at seeing the disturbing look on the Earl's face. He's angry even if it doesn't show through the comedic grin.

"I am tired of your excuses," he says. "I suggest you go and finish your job, Tyki-pon. You know how I feel about you children doing your jobs half-heartedly." The glare that he gave, accompanied by the grin, send the message loud and clear.

_No more screw ups._

"Yes, Millennium Earl."

"Then go on ahead." Tyki couldn't contend with that order. He did give Reina's sleeping form a glance before taking his coat and hat and leaving for the next target on his list. The room remains in silence with Road poking Reina's cheeks until the Earl sighs. "What a nuisance."

"You think I was wrong?" Road asks impishly and takes one of the strands of Reina's hair in between her fingers.

"Whether you were or not does not matter. The issue is she." The Earl's grin is menacing towards Reina but Road doesn't seem to mind it. "I have been tolerant enough of the stray. It's time she learns a real lesson."

"I'll do it," Road says, volunteering.

"Then it's all yours. Do as you please until the time comes for the download." With that said, the Earl heads out of the room. Road turns back to the sleeping girl and touches her soft cheek.

"Mm. Let's see what kind of fun we can have, all right, pooch?"

* * *

When I wake up, my head's ready to burst from the pounding pain. But the somewhat cold surface of the tiled floor alleviates it. My eyes let me see around as I sit up and notice my surroundings. I sit on the floor of a very nice foyer, not the one from the Kamelot's though.

This one seems different and it's much more solitary. No one around and no sound at all. Odd because the last thing I remember—

" _I still think you're ridiculously naïve."_

A gasp comes out of my lips and my hand comes up to the back of my head. I feel around my scalp but can't feel anything that hurts or that bulges out. What the hell had Tyki put in me? Whatever it was, it didn't seem to be there anymore. That didn't change the fact that I'm livid and that I will punch him the moment I see him again.

_This is the last time he'll get the better of me like that._

Sneaky bastard.

But to get to punch him in the gut, I need to find him first. And there's no one here that I can ask directions from. Or to ask where I am, for that matter. The foyer that I'm at has a staircase that leads up to the east and west. There are also two doors on either side on the first floor. A long hall goes on right across from the stairs. It seems to have no end for all I see is darkness far at the end. The feeling of loneliness strikes me hard and cold.

_Something's not right._

"You're awake!"

"Road?" I take no time to think over why I can't see her but still hear her. "Where are you? Where am _I_?"

She deems fit to answer only one question. "You're inside one of the rooms of the Ark. It's one of the big ones too~ A whole mansion for me to play with!"

"Why am I here?" I ask, looking around to see if I can find her anywhere.

But her voice keeps coming from thin air. "It's punishment, of course! The Earl wasn't too happy about you interrupting Tyki, so I'm going to discipline you~" A noise comes from somewhere in the foyer but I can't pinpoint it. "We'll be playing a game. Besides you, there's a hundred more in this mansion. They're hiding and itching to fight. Better get ready!"

At Road's words, I hear something that clatters on the floor behind me. I turn to find that not far from my feet is my butterfly knife, a standard handgun and a magazine for it. My hands grab them from the floor; my knife goes in my skirt and then, without a thought, I load the handgun and hold it in my hands.

"Don't worry. I won't leave you as defenseless as you think. There'll be more around the house!" Road seems to be having quite a ride with this little _game_. "Now, those that I told you about, there's a hundred here; thing is that 99 are Akuma. The one that's missing is a human. I got it so that it'd be fair game!"

Ninety-nine Akuma, huh. It shouldn't be that hard. They're all nasty machines anyway. Finding a human among them should be easy. A noise behind me makes me spin on my heels. I barely catch the sight of the attack that's thrown my way. A pickaxe carried by an older man. He swings it at me but I'm able to avoid it and get some distance.

_There's the human. Easy enough._

But the old man won't stop attacking me. He's livid and holds a craze in his eyes that burns his gaze. Road said that she is controlling the human she kidnapped. She must be making them do this too.

 _I've got to immobilize him then_.

With this in mind, I cock the gun to eye level and steady my arms and aim. In my sight, I have his foot as target. "Sorry about this," I whisper and let my finger push against the trigger. The recoil is nothing and I can keep steady but the man not so much. He was still moving and instead of getting him on the foot, I get his leg and he tumbles down to the floor.

I cringe at the unexpected shot but know he won't be getting up from that. But then to my surprise he does. But the leg I shot isn't a leg anymore, it's a mechanical monstrosity. And what seeps out from the wound isn't red but instead black; a liquid that reminds me of black oil.

"You damn human!" the man screeches and bares his teeth. The mechanical sound of his voice astonishes me.

 _Wasn't he the_ —

"Oh that's right!" Road's voice calls amidst the scene. "You haven't seen this before but Akuma actually hide in the world underneath human skins. They can look as normal as you but beneath are just those machines."

That fact hits me hard.

Knowing this now, I shoot at the head of the monster and blow it cleanly off. The Akuma doesn't die but instead sinks into the room.

"You can't kill them but a clean headshot will get them out of the game board." When I hear her say this, more sounds come to my ears. My eyes gander around the foyer and see the hoard of vicious people that start to surround me. They all look the same as the old man.

So normal and human but…

"Well, counting that last one, you only have 98 left!" Road's maniacal laughter rings across the room. The people surrounding me stay put but seem ready to strike with their various, makeshift weapons. "Hope you don't mistakenly kill that other person there with you~"

With that last warning, she goes quiet. And as if in response the crowd of ravenous people all launch to attack.


	15. Chapter 15

**_Fifteen_ **

**Care**

* * *

_What a tiresome day._

Tyki couldn't help but think that as he treaded his way towards his room. Not only had he shot down most of his list but he'd done it in record time. Although it had been a bit troublesome to get all those hits in just half a day, he couldn't stop himself. A bothersome feeling had nested in his gut since he left and hadn't let up since.

_Since I left her alone with_ them.

Sure, he knew what could happen. But he had explicitly told Road—as clear as it was possible at that time—to not hurt Reina. Knowing her, though, she could very well have toyed with her again. Especially if the Earl allowed it.

**_Why the hell are you worrying your ass over for, anyway?_ **

Why…? Simply put because he felt responsible for it.

Surely Reina had some fault since she interfered in his job when she was specifically told not to. Plenty of times. But then again, it was his fault for bringing her back. He could've left her back with Eeze and the others and nothing would have happened.

_And yet I brought her back._

For a petty emotion he shouldn't be feeling.

Tyki ruffle his hair messing it up. He pulled the band that was holding it to let the curls lay about. Now that he was finally back at the Kamelot's, the least he could do was quickly take her back to the guys and leave her there. Better there than here.

His hand came to the door for his room and turned it unconsciously. The quietness in the waiting room calmed him somewhat. It at least meant that he wouldn't have any surprise visitors. With that off his mind, he took his coat off and lazily laid it on top of the armchair near the fireplace. On his way to his room, Tyki began undoing his tie for some air. But at turning the knob and pushing the door open a bit, he heard something on the other side. It was faint, unleveled and somewhat heavy. He stood there with the door slightly opened trying to figure what the noise was or where it could come from.

After a few seconds of nothing, he slowly opened the door for himself to go in. The first thing he noticed was the darkness of the room. There was no light except for the moon's faint, silver shine coming in through the window. That in itself gave away that it wasn't any of those family members of his. They would already be prancing about and poking around in his stuff with the lights on and the door wide open. Nothing new there.

But the fact that the door had been shut and that the lights were off was a sign that it wasn't them. And yet he heard the noise, what he now could discern to be faint and shallow breathing. And it was coming from the dark silhouette that laid on his canopied bed behind closed curtains. Despite being hidden by them, Tyki could make out the shape of a big lump just on the other side.

As he approached it cautiously, his mind went through the many different scenarios of what could lay beyond the veil-like silk curtains. Not wanting for it to get to gruesome case scenarios, he grabbed the curtain and brusquely pulled it aside to get a better view of what lay behind it.

But before his eyes could focus on the silhouette, he saw a glint of silver from the moonlight that immediately caught his attention. Before anything else happened he quickly grabbed the slim wrist that held the knife tightly in its grip. Despite this, though, the person kept wanting to plunge the knife upon him. Tyki then jerked the wrist and forced the hand to let go of the weapon making it fall with a loud clank onto the tiled floor.

The person wouldn't stop though and kept fighting trying to get their hand back. Tyki knew— it was the instant he began to hear the voice that let out the desperate cries and grunts—who this person was.

"Hey, calm down." A punch flew just past his face. "Stay put." He grabbed the knee that was meant for his gut before it made contact. "Stop th—" He wasn't lucky enough to avoid the punch that hit his throat though. He coughed slightly but regain composure to grab both their wrists with one hand and their shoulders with the other.

_That's it._

"I said stop, Reina!" he yelled in a loud enough voice to freeze her in her place. As she sat still on the bed, the clouds hiding the moon cleared and began to shed more light in the room. It was when he finally caught sight of her state that he himself drew back shocked. "W-What happened…?"

It was nothing more than a whisper but it echoed loudly in his head.

Reina—who sat so unceremoniously on his bed—stared wide-eyed at him. Most of the clothes she was in were tattered and dirtied with deep maroon stains. Her hair was dull and completely disheveled to one side, not even close to the ponytail it was meant to be. But all that wasn't what stunned him. It was the countless of wounds all over her body that set his blood boiling in rage.

Her arms and legs were covered in bruises and cuts—some only striking the surface, others actually already clogging up with dried maroon blood. Her once pretty face was also cut with the most prominent injuries being the busted lips and brow. Even the onset of what would surely become a black eye clouded the emerald sheen of one eye.

What he couldn't believe were the deeper wounds on her thighs and close to her pelvis—the ones that were clogged but by the contour of the wounds themselves seemed self-inflicted.

_What in the world…?_

"Ty…ki…?"

His golden eyes wondered up to hers. She seemed just as shock to see him. Her eyes suddenly lost their sudden glaze and dilation. To him now they were just pools of endless emptiness. Her voice cracked at saying his name and her bleeding lip quivered at the same time her eyes became watery.

Without any warning, she threw herself at him. Her hands held on for dear life and she yelled with what voice she could. It wasn't much more than an empty holler that came from a raspy and hoarse voice. It was already used and tired most likely from screaming so much before.

Tyki was so baffled by her sudden actions that he couldn't figure what he was supposed to do. But she couldn't stop screaming at the top of her lungs. And suddenly they became loud cries and sobs. The grasp she had on him tighten so much that it started to hurt.

"Reina, what—"

"I'm sorry!" Those were the first words that she hollered. And the ones that she kept repeating nonstop. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Hey, what are you talking about?" he says loud enough for her to hear over her own dying screams.

**"I killed someone!"** Her shout was short and definitive and filled with a wrenching sorrow that even he felt. With that one regret having spilt she began to cry again even when her voice was just about gone. There was only one last thing she spoke with her hoarse voice. "I killed them…"

* * *

_Ninety-five gone._

_Only four left._

If I kept those things in my mind I'm probably going to be fine with this. It had been some time since Road dropped me in this madhouse. Probably more than a few hours but it felt like an eternity.

The Akuma were disguised as humans like she had said, so my only option to distinguish them from a human was to injure them. If they began to morph out of their skin then I quickly offed them with a shot to the head. So far, ninety-five of them have gone down.

They hadn't gone out without a fight though. Almost all carried some sort of weapon and it was hard to avoid their attacks when they ganked me. Luckily I had gotten out of each alive; not unscathed but alive.

The wounds on my legs and arms were burning and that I had gone hours on end running and avoiding them was starting to take a toll on me. I was burning out by now.

_I have to finish this soon._

Hiding behind a corner, I listen for any sign of others and hear footsteps just around it. Not wanting to waste any energy or time, I quickly turned with my gun ready. Before it could turn and spot me, I aimed at one of its legs. It buckled at the shot and began to mutate out of its skin.

_Monster._

Without a second thought, I shot at its head and it fell back onto the floor as the same black void that had taken the other 95 took it too. Another sound just behind me gives me enough time to feint to the side and avoid the axe that comes down. Turning on my heels, I shoot at the shoulder and see it mutate out.

My gun then goes up to its head but when I press the trigger I only hear an empty click. Shit, no more ammo. The big guy takes this as a chance to catch me off guard. Though I evade most of the attack, the axe still catches part of my leg. I wince at the sudden contact.

Not wasting any time though, I pull and swing my knife open to quickly plunge the blade through its skull. It stumbles back and falls down when I pull it out of the thick bone. Not long after he disappears in a black void.

_Ninety-seven._

_Just two more._

Hurrying as much as I can, I head straight ahead through a corridor and open a pair of heavy double doors. It leads me into a chapel that is grand despite being small. The light from outside hits the stained-glass above that illuminates the room. It drenches the blank room in a very bright array of different colors.

I near the podium that holds nothing but a blank book. A table even sits before the podium with empty dishes, utensils, and grails. The sudden noises from behind me make me turn about to catch two figures closing the doors behind them.

I can't shoot them anymore. I'll have to manage with close-combat without being hit too gravely. My hand has my butterfly knife ready, but before I can barge in and catch them off guard someone catches me in a choke hold from behind. As I struggle to get them off me, I notice how light they are. My hand quickly reverses the hold I have on my knife and stab back onto their knee. They flinch and their hold loosens enough for me to spin and throw them over my shoulder.

The ruckus of the thing bursting through the table and the items there is something I can quickly look at. One of the ones that had come from the entrance gets to me. With a little trouble, I dodge the machete their holding before stabbing their arm. The moment I see it bulging out, I sink my blade onto their neck and leave it be when it falls and disappears.

My eyes turn to the one that crashed onto the table. The cloth that was over the table covers the debris of the broken table and what's underneath. But nothing's moving. That thing must've broken something enough to make it disappear.

_Finally…it's over._

Putting the knife away, I turn to the woman still standing. She looked crazed but hadn't attacked me. It's as if she's conflicted to even attack me. She must be fighting against Road's control.

"It's okay," I tell her, my voice much out of breath and my whole body covered with wounds. "You're all right now." My hand comes out toward her as a friendly gesture. "It's all over."

She stared at my hand and then at me. The sudden glare that came on her face astounded me. "You damn human!" she hollers with a distorted voice just before her head bursts out into a machine. I'm so shocked that I can't step back from the canons that are all pointing at me. "Die already!" The energy began building up in them but before it shot a slash of purplish energy destroys it.

The explosion being so close tosses me off my feet. It pushes me back onto one of the benches around and I fall to the floor coughing from the hit. My ears ring from the explosion but when my hearing comes back I can hear Road's laughter.

I sit up to find her where the explosion took place and she pouts. "I said to them that they shouldn't transform unless hit. Oh well," she says with a shrug of her shoulders before turning to me with the biggest grin on her face. "Congrats on surviving, pooch~"

I survived but…what's this sinking feeling?

The whole scene was still playing over and over in my head. The first had been dealt with. The second was gone. But the third wasn't it either.

_What's going on…?_

"You seem a little confused." Without me noticing, Road had come closer and is standing right before me. She squats down and smiles before pointing behind me. "If you still can't figure it out then just look over there~"

My eyes follow her ashen hand to the broken table and white cloth that shines different colors under the stained-glass window. Languidly, I get back on my feet and stand before the veil of the table cloth. I'm scared but before it can win me over, I pry it away from the debris. My eyes widen in horror at what lays there. The woman had her eyes wide open and they were rolled into the back of her head. Her mouth was agape as blood pools around her head. Several knives and forks were plunged in her throat where most of the blood came out. The stained-glass made the thick liquid shine in different bright colors, but the shades were always dark.

Blood.

My heart dropped and my knees buckled underneath me. My knees hit the floor hard but I'm numb. My whole body and mind are as the information sinks completely into me.

_I killed her._

_I killed someone._

"Too bad, pooch~" Road says and she touches my shoulder. "You lost the game." But her words sound muffled and distant. Her touch is cold and harsh. But nothing beats the horrendous wrenching in my stomach and the pain in my chest. My breathing's labored now and I can't help but feel like I'm falling.

Falling deep into a dark hole that I can't dig myself out of. A grave I started ten years ago—and I just drove myself into it.

"Let's hope you learned from this, pooch. You don't just go on and do as you like. Unless you want me to kill what little sanity you might have left, you'll do well to learn and fast." Her footsteps recede from behind me and I'm left with my murderous thoughts that only have an intent on killing me.

_Cherise._

"I'm sorry…" My breath was heavy and my hands gripped my knife closely. I wanted this to be all a bad dream like before. Clumsily snapping my knife open—even hurting my fingers at doing that—I begin slashing the blade against my thighs.

_I couldn't keep my promise._

"I'm sorry…" But my panic rises with every slash I do on my thighs and hips.

_I killed someone._

"I'm so sorry…" The blood rushes out warm and the numbness is replaced with searing and burning pain.

It's real. It's all real.

_I'm nothing but a monster._

* * *

Tyki listened intently at what little he understood. Reina spoke in sobs and cries but from what he could catch something horrible had happened.

What Road had made her go through—pin her against Akuma—was bad enough. But that she had gotten her to kill another human was the worst thing possible. It wasn't the action itself that he found deplorable; even he didn't see killing as anything horrible.

But Reina…she saw it as the worst thing anybody could do. More like the worst she could do by the way she explained it. And yet he couldn't understand why she couldn't stand the thought of herself doing it.

"But why though?" he asked with Reina still holding onto him tightly.

"I broke my promise," she cried vigorously. "The second chance Cherise gave me—I've wasted it!" Her sobs increased and it began to get harder to understand her. "She risked her life to safe mine when I brought nothing but pain to others. Even knowing that—I thought she saw something in me worth saving! But now—now all I've done… _ugh_ —all I did was prove she saved a murderer! _A monster!"_ Her sobs broke into a full on cry even though her voice was as good as gone. Tyki was sure that with all the crying and screaming her throat should be hurting.

Tired of hearing her self-loathing and wanting to tend to her wounds as soon as possible, he pulled her from him and shook his head for her to see. And although he intended to say some wisecrack comment, something in him forced other words from his lips.

"You're wrong." This caught her attention enough to level her cries to soft sobs and hiccups. Reina looked up at his golden irises with her emerald ones and the look tore something in him. Just the pain that came through them was unbearable to watch. All he wanted now was to take that away. "A monster would never feel guilt or remorse. And that you're feeling it is proof. It's a clear reminder and something that makes you more human than any I've seen."

_So different than me._

Her eyes narrowed and Tyki could tell she wasn't buying it. She was beating herself too much about a mistake. Something that she couldn't have avoided. To survive a lot of things have to happen; some that many don't want to do.

"Why…don't you hate me?" Reina's voice was hoarser than before and barely audible. But the question sounded genuinely confused.

"For something you couldn't help?" Tyki's voice rose a bit in disbelief. Was she really that shocked? Was she expecting him to hate her for something that wasn't really her fault?

_Maybe she did._

Which made him think that if she did then someone already had done that before. It would explain why she expected it. And that just made something in him twist painfully.

He brushed away the hair that messily fell on her dirtied face. Despite the wounds and bruises, he could still see as plain as day the woman that wouldn't leave his mind.

"Listen, Reina. I know you—despite how much you may hate me, I've known you for a year now. I've gotten to see who you are—the loving, caring, obnoxious, and most pig-headed girl you are." The list of _compliments_ makes her nose crunch up and that makes him chuckle slightly. "And you would never willingly do something like that. You're so much unlike me. I feel nothing when I hurt or kill others. _That's_ a monster."

Tyki had to admit that despite being able to do those things, he knew something had changed. It was as if the two sides of himself were starting to bleed into each other. A humane piece kept clinging onto him despite his being with the Noah. And he could finally pinpoint it to Reina. She was the only one that connected both worlds. She alone brought a solitary light into their world of darkness. Or even entice a terrible darkness that beseeched her light.

A wry grin came to his lips as he brushed her hair back carefully. "You're nothing like me. You're only…human."

The confusion seemed to linger for a bit longer on her eyes but dissipated somewhat after his explanation. But Reina was still distraught about what occurred and Tyki knew that she wouldn't let herself off so easily. He also knew, though, that he had to tend to her wounds because if she did some to herself then she wouldn't treat them. At that another thought arose.

_If she did some of them then she must really hate herself for what she did._

That just made him feel worse for how she was putting herself down. Was this promise with that woman Cherise really that important?

Tyki let the question rest for a bit to concentrate more on the matter at hand. "Let's treat you first."

"No—" The word came out hoarse and ended quickly when she winced and grabbed at her throat.

"No buts, lil'queen." _Maybe this'll be a better approach._ "I'm going to treat ya whether you want to or not."

Reina wouldn't talk anymore in fear of her sore throat. Tyki grabbed some supplies from the bathroom next door and rolled up his sleeves to begin what he knew would take some time. All the while he cleaned the wounds, though, she kept trying to kick and push him back. But he could tell how tired she was by how lame her attempts were. With a smack on the head, he caught her attention.

"I told ya, don't matter what you do I'm treating you."

Reina glared daggers at him but he just grinned and continued cleaning the wounds. It was when he had to clean the deeper wounds that she began to struggle more but out of the pain. The wounds were still plenty fresh and he could tell. After a few seconds of tending those, her hands stopped the shoving and came up to his shoulders to grip them tightly. Tyki could easily tell how much they hurt by how tightly she dug her nails onto him. Groans began to escape her lips at one point but he soon finished cleaning the surface. But he noticed that the cuts were too many to clean by hand. It'd be easier if she would clean herself up first thoroughly.

Putting all the gauzes and alcohol aside, he got up and faced her. "You'll need to take a bath, lil'queen. I can't patch them up if you're still dirty."

She shook her head twice. He sighed getting somewhat tired of her lousy attitude. Tyki knew that arguing with her would be a never-ending thing. Instead he headed for the restroom. The dark-tiled floor contrasted a lot with the white walls. Inside the little room there was nothing but a wash basin and a freestanding tub. It was easy enough for him to fill it up with lukewarm water and it only took him a few minutes.

Tyki came back outside to find Reina still sitting on his bed but she had started to pick at her deeper wounds making them bleed again.

"Hey!" he called out and sprinted over to grab her hand and stop her. She glared up at him but he did the same and didn't falter. "Stop that."

_"Fuck you."_ Despite only being able to mouth words for now, Tyki had clearly seen her lips form those specific ones.

"Glad to. But stop doing that. You'll make them worse." But that she had lowered her head with a glare told him that it was exactly what she wanted. He sighed at this. "Anyway, the bath's ready. Go take a shower."

Her glare intensified—if that was possible—and she averted her gaze intent on ignoring him. Tyki felt his eye twitch at her still existing defiance.

_Damn, woman._

Reina was really not making this any easier. But he wasn't one to give up easily either.

"Fine," he said. Reina looked up thinking she'd won but was caught by surprise when Tyki picked her up from the bed. "Have it your way." She struggled some more but in the state she was in it wasn't anything to him. Kicking the door of the bathroom open, he passed through with Reina in his arms. She didn't seem to notice his intent and squealed in surprise when he suddenly dumped her into the warm water.

Reina let out a squeal that lasted a few seconds when her body touched the water. The tub overflowed a bit and water fell onto the tile wetting Tyki's shoes. She turned to glare at him for that but he grinned at what he was seeing.

"Nice color. Goes well with you." Tyki pointed down to her chest and at looking down, Reina flustered and covered her transparent shirt with her arms. He scoffed and turned to leave. "Now you'll take that shower, won't you?"

"Fucker…leave," she croaked out barely.

"Are you going to do something stupid again?" he asked seriously.

"No."

"Your word doesn't mean much after that little stunt, anyway. I'll stay for now," he said rather enthusiastically and goofy.

"Leave!" she screeched with her cracked voice.

"Fine," he sighs in defeat and goes on to the door. "I'll come bring you something to wear. Don't go drowning yourself, okay?"

Reina didn't answer but instead started to take her wet clothes off just as Tyki left. He had to force himself to leave and not phase through the door. A part of him really wanted to just go and see what her body looked like…completely bare. Just the thought of that almost made him turn around but his mind told him not to.

_She's already dealing with a lot. No need for me to put on more._

So Tyki let that go and instead got a white sleeping gown and her other garments from her room that wasn't that far away. He came back and noticed that he didn't hear anything from the other side of the bathroom. He knocked on the door and asked if she was still alive, jokingly. Reina only knocked back once and that was enough for him. Tyki told her he had a gown for her and to open the door. She did briefly before snatching the garments and sleeping gown from his hand before shutting the door.

He couldn't help but chuckle at her embarrassment. It took her a few minutes—Tyki spent them changing the sheets on his bed for clean ones—before she came out all clean and changed. At meeting her eyes, Tyki could tell that she wasn't pleased with the clothing he chose for her.

He liked it though. A white gown, thin at that, that let his eyes see a bit of the dark garments he chose. And something even more important, it let him see what she wasn't wearing…like a brassiere.

"Couldn't find one, lil'queen." She came out and punched him on the shoulder as hard as she could. It wasn't much, really. Tyki turned to her—trying to ignore her dress and its wonderful transparency—and noted her damp hair that was clinging to the back of the gown. He went back in to the bathroom and grabbed the towel she left behind before coming back out. Grabbing her hand, Tyki guided her to the bed and sat before bringing her down to sit before him just at the edge of the bed.

Reina tried to get away but couldn't when he placed the towel over her head and started to dry her ebony locks. "Try taking more care of yourself. You'll get sick like this." She says nothing, expected, but sits there and lets him do as he wants. Once done, he goes on to treat the now clean wounds; Tyki simply put ointment on before bandaging them. Most of the small ones seemed to have closed fast but the deeps one needed the treatment. And that wasn't really a hard thing to do for him. "There all done." He looked up to her but found her spacing out and her gaze glazed over.

_Still at it, huh._

Tyki was sure it'd take some time before she got over it. If she ever did.

"Want to eat?" It took a few seconds for her to answer him. Reina didn't explicitly answer but instead turned to him and then to the clock on the far wall. It was almost going to be midnight. "Oh, you mean because it's late? Forget that. If you're hungry I can get them to make you something."

Despite that though, she shook her head slowly once. He sighed for he had started to get fed up with her attitude again. Tyki massaged his neck and looked at her for a bit.

_Fine. Don't eat._

"You've at least got to sleep." But at the mere mention of this, Tyki noticed how her whole body stiffened up. Reina immediately started shaking her head back and forth. She seemed adamant on not sleeping. "Come on," he said, grabbing her hand and leading her back to the bed. "You'll be fine." It's a bit hard but he noticed how her body loosened a bit when he held her hand. Pulling at the covers, she goes underneath them but had no clear intent on going to sleep. Tyki covered her up haphazardly at noticing this.

_How the hell am I supposed to get her to sleep, then?_

Reading. Back then too—that night that he had seared into his brain—Reina had fallen asleep like nothing when she read to Eeze. Given they were both tired, yes. But even in the faint light of the candles he had lighted not long ago, he could tell that Reina was exhausted. Not just physically but emotionally too. She just looked so defeated and he hated to see that. Reina could be stubborn, caring, loving, and even stupid but he had never seen her so depressed before. And he quite frankly hated it.

So he opted for the one thing that he could think of. Picking up a book from one of his shelves he sat at the edge just across from where she laid, her back to him while facing the window. "I get it if you don't want to sleep. Let's see if you like this better, then."

And in the faint candlelight, he began reading from the beginning. It was a nice story, an orphan boy going around the world despite being poor and getting to know so many things about people and life. It was an old story and one that Tyki knew well. He was about a quarter of the way—had leaned against the back of the canopied bed and taken the right side while Reina kept to the left—when he felt her shift and then turned around. Lowering the book, Tyki glanced over to see that Reina had actually turned fully around and was now facing him.

Beneath her bruises and bandaged cuts, he could see her face finally peaceful as she took deep breaths in and out. Even though she was on her side, he could tell just how slightly her chest rose and fell; and also how the top of her breasts poked from beneath the gown and covers.

Tempted as he was, Tyki knew he wouldn't be able to stay there and not take advantage of the situation. Reina was frankly going through something that he knew nothing about. And although he thought what she had done necessary, she hadn't and it showed. It scarred some part of her and she wouldn't be in any mood for anything.

**_Since when do you need permission?_ **

Never, really. Other women did nothing but throw themselves at him. And although he would use some to satiate his primal needs, he always tossed them aside. Nothing there to keep. But Reina was different. Doing something like that now when she was most fragile would not help her at all.

So before his mind told him an excuse he wouldn't take, he slowly rose from the bed. He took the book with him and went to the waiting room.

At least there he wouldn't do anything. Taking where he left off, Tyki continued reading the story by himself. But it didn't take long before the exhaustion that he had before all that happened to strike back and send him to sleep on the chair.

Tragically, though, his slumber wouldn't last.

Not even half an hour after he fell asleep he was woken by blood curling screaming that came from his room. Without a second thought, he jumped to his feet and ran to the room. There he found Reina sitting at the bed screaming at the top of her lungs again, her voice—barely having recovered any from the harsh usage—hoarse and scratchy. He came up to her and grabbed her shoulders but she wouldn't react.

_A night terror?_

He remembered Eeze having nightmares like those when they first found him. They were heavy dreams and would even make him shout in his sleep. This didn't seem that different except for its intensity. All he would do with Eeze was hold him and try to calm him without forcibly waking him up. And right then, it was all he could do with Reina.

Grabbing her so she would stop thrashing, he held her against him and tried not to shake or yell at her to wake up. Tyki heard the screaming for a few minutes more before she became suddenly quiet. She must've woken up then because she began to cry profusely once more like before. This time, too, apologizing to that woman, Cherise.

Reina unconsciously seemed to wrap her arms around Tyki and hold on for dear life. She cried and cried letting whatever strength she had regained with the little bit of sleep she had disappear. Tyki couldn't believe she cried for a good half an hour before she tired herself and fell asleep in his arms.

_Why, God? Why tempt me so?_

Despite having fallen asleep, Reina still had her arms wrapped around him. It made it really hard to ignore her breasts pressed up against his chest. And he couldn't just let her sleep sitting up—he was tired too, dammit.

So while trying really hard not to wake her up again, Tyki slid them both underneath the covers. As he moved, though, he kept feeling Reina shifting around trying to accommodate herself. The more she moved, the more she brushed her breasts against him back and forth.

_Augh, she's going to kill me._

Finally getting into a more comfortable position for both, Tyki sighed when Reina finally finished shifting in her sleep. One arm was still wrapped around and holding his shirt tight while the other rested on his chest to let her cheek rest on it. Her legs were tucked up and she was a neat ball sleeping against him.

Tyki really had a hard time not doing anything beyond letting her brush against him. But that she was so comfortably sleeping against him made something in him relaxed and warm. Reina always was the most defenseless when asleep—more so now than ever. And yet she felt no hesitation at letting him see her like this. Perhaps she was more preoccupied with what had happened to let it cross her mind, but Reina wasn't like that.

Tyki knew Reina as a woman who was always cautious and on her guard. Ready for anything that came her way. And if not, she would make stuff up and let it work out somehow.

But now he saw a completely different side. One he saw only the surface of that time he had scared her with his powers. A vulnerable and weak side that needed support. One that felt so detached that she needed utter care from someone else. A part of her that needed _him._

And, frankly, he loved it. The thought of being needed by her—such an outrageous thought, really—quieted a dark voice in him that he tried to repress himself most of the time. One that could easily devour his humanity if Tyki let it. A humanity that Reina touched and somehow kept alive and vibrant. With her close he had a hard time worrying about that entity when he was more concerned about his lil'queen.

With one arm underneath her head and the other lying across both of them, Tyki couldn't think of a more pleasant place to be. Her deep breathing, her sweet warmth, and her soft touch—just her mere presence—lulled him to sleep faster than he could have imagined.

* * *

But there was little rest for the two.

The days that followed were a horrible experience for Tyki as he tried coping with what Reina was going through. The nights were restless with her waking up every couple of hours and screaming bloody murder with Tyki being able to do nothing. The days she spent cooped up not doing anything but looking out the window. She would eat close to nothing, only poking at the food he brought.

It was truly getting to be a troublesome task for Tyki, but most of all it was beginning to get worrisome. If this kept up she would die of exhaustion or famine, whichever won the race over the other. And quite frankly, he thought that's exactly what she wanted.

_She doesn't want to live anymore._

On the third day of the endless endeavor, Tyki managed to get her to sleep some and went out for something to eat. On his way to the dining room, though, he crossed paths with the one he intended to have a word with.

"Road."

At hearing someone call her name, Road turned to find Tyki walking her way. Road said hi to him with a grin. "Ah, Tyki! What's up?"

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Somewhere~" she cooed, playing around with the question. "Just some job. You look like hell, by the way!"

"Yeah, no thanks to you," he plainly confessed while he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What the hell did you do to Reina?"

"Oh, pooch is still alive?" The mere sentence made Tyki's suspicions clear. "Huh, thought she would have killed herself by now!"

_Yeah, she really had intended for Reina to off herself._

"Not yet so far, and she won't," Tyki assured her with his hands crossed over his chest. "I thought I explicitly told you not to mess with her."

"Well, the Earl wanted me to so I couldn't say no." Road began to walk away but gasped at remembering something and turned to Tyki. "But I've got to admit it's fun messing with her~ So gullible."

_Gullible?_

"What do you mean?"

"I played a little game of cat and mouse. Pinned her against some Akuma, you know!" Road squealed quite ecstatic at remembering what had happened. "And the best part is that I told her there was a human that she could save! How stupid is she really?" She began laughing hysterically, completely done in by the mere thought of Reina's struggle.

But this brought new light into his eyes. "You mean that she didn't…kill anybody?"

"Ha, not by a long shot. They were all Akuma, she's just too unknowledgeable about them to know better. Isn't that marvelous?"

"Yeah," Tyki whispered to himself, not referring to her game. "Splendid."

"Oh, by the way, the Earl wants to know if you've done your job—Tyki?!" Before Road could get an answer from him, he watched his receding back as he sprinted back towards his room. She stood there simply staring at his wake and smiled. "How adorable, really."

* * *

Tyki burst through the door of his room and caught sight of Reina sitting at the edge of the bed. He had startled her with the sudden jolt of the door but he didn't care. He sprinted over to her side and grabbed her by shoulders.

There was no beating around the bush with this. He just wanted for her pitiful state to end.

"You didn't kill anybody."

Reina's eyes widened as they stared at his but there was still a glint of skepticism. "W-What?"

"Road lied to you. You only fought Akuma. She only made you think you killed another person."

"It can't be…" Her voice rose hopeful at the prospect but quickly fell. Tyki couldn't believe how skeptical she was but there was something he could say to make her understand.

_Just spell it out for her._

"You didn't kill anybody, Reina. You haven't broken your promise to Cherise."

Those words slowly sank into her and brought a light back into her eyes—a light that Tyki couldn't believe he had missed those past few days.

"I didn't—" she choked on her words as tears began pouring down her cheeks. This time, though, he could tell they were just from pure joy and relief. "Oh God, I didn't."

"Yeah," Tyki assured her and stroked her head. "You didn't."

A bright smile spread across her face that completely contrasted her emotional state of the past few days. And just seeing it brighten his own mood—he wasn't that tired anymore and not even hungry. Before he could think anything else about the lifted mood, though, Reina squealed in excitement and threw herself at Tyki. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and wouldn't let go. But before he could even react to that something else happened that caught him completely off guard.

Reina pulled back slightly from her embrace—he thought she was going to get off until she didn't. Instead she leaned in and pressed her lips against his.

And the simple sensation of her full lips against his made him shiver for a slight moment. They were small yet full and although the kiss was chaste and childish it was heaven. Just the feeling of her lips and body against his was unbelievable.

And he wanted more. The innocent kiss soon changed when his hands fell on the small of her back and pressed her slightly forth. He would stop if she said no but if she didn't protest then he'd go on.

_Please, just let me have this little bit of solace._

And whatever god was out there seemed to have heard his pleas. Reina didn't push herself off and instead leaned even closer at his coaxing. Seemed that those sleepless nights were going to pay off.

Tyki played with the innocent kiss a little longer to savor the sweetness of it but soon he craved for more. Using his tongue, he caressed her lower lip slowly and with a clear intention. It was when he bit it slightly that he got what he was looking for, Reina's slight gasp of surprise. That was enough of an entrance to let him in and let his tongue explore the inside of her mouth.

It felt sinful how their tongues danced against each other. Even more that she was actually posing up a fight for dominance in the daring dance. But Tyki was never one to give control that easily and instead let his hands wonder beneath her gown to let them play along the edges of her white undergarments.

At the sudden distraction, Reina's focus on control was lost and Tyki could finally take over. And he took full advantage of it. Just savoring her mouth seemed enough but at the same time it just made him yearn for more.

Those thoughts surfaced many times before about ravaging her body and making her scream in utter ecstasy. But back then those were fantasies that he could only dream of. Now he felt the slightest chance that they were possible.

Finally separating and letting her breathe again, he focused more on her neck. He loved how with everything lick, kiss, and bite she would moan so prominently and quietly. A whisper of the pleasure she felt. A pleasure he was inducing on her. But he wanted more than just quiet moans.

His left hand lifted her gown up enough for him to caress her breast and start playing around with her nipple. At this her moaning just got louder but at hearing herself, she quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

"Don't." Tyki's voice came out raspy and low when he groaned onto her neck. Without a warning, the hand on her hips went down and grabbed her thigh before lifting her up. Reina let out a surprised yelped and, out of reflex so as to not fall, wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed onto his neck tighter. It didn't seem to bother either of them that she could plainly feel the bulge at his loins.

No warning given, he walked the few steps to the bed and leaned onto it to let Reina fall back. He couldn't believe what he saw at bringing his eyes up to her. It was a glorious sight for Tyki; her gown shoved past her chest, her hair matted, and her eyes glazed over. Just a sweet image that he could quickly make even better.

He leaned in against Reina's neck again and began biting down on her making her gasp loudly. "Let me hear you." His hands went back again to caress every part of exposed skin on her body making her groan even more. "I want to hear every moan, every gasp, and every scream of pleasure that comes out of that beautiful mouth of yours."

Reina was taken aback by his words that she didn't even register when his lips started trailing lower. First to her collarbone, and quickly thereafter to her breast. The moment he caught her nipple in mouth she moaned louder than before and the sound just intensified the more he swiveled his tongue around it, playing with it.

Tyki couldn't help but savor what he had but dreamed about lately. Just getting to tear her down piece by piece until she begged. This was going to be a task he would prolong until she pleaded or until he couldn't withstand the pain anymore. But just the distinct flavor of her now was leaving him wanting more.

And his hand found the next stop just beneath her panty line. Her hands had come undone from his neck and over his hand that was now hovering over her lower parts. As if deciding whether to let him or not. But when he left one breast to taste the other all doubt and hesitation left her as she pressed his hand over her panties.

His fingers didn't need to have direct contact to see how wet she was at this point. And frankly just by feeling it, he knew he wanted a taste. Raising his hand and laying it over the strap that was on her hip, he slid his fingers beneath it and began to pull them down. He kept relishing in her nipples and had her panties almost off her hips exposing the thin line that caved further in when a sudden growling caught them both by surprise.

Tyki heard it as loud as anything and Reina felt it churn up in her stomach. Everything stopped at that moment, all hands ceased motion and all breathing seemed to halt. It wasn't until Tyki raised and let his head drop right on Reina's collarbone that anybody moved. Reina let out a huff from the sudden hit and Tyki let out a defeated chuckle.

"Guess your hunger's back." He let out a defeated sigh and with his hand still wrapped around her panties, pulled them up back in place. Tyki raised his head to gander at the queen he had beneath him. Reina was immobile and startled as if still processing what just happened and where they had been headed. The sight made another more hearted chuckle escape him as he put a hand behind her back. Lifting her carefully off the bed, he accommodated the gown down to cover her. Once that was down he lifted her whole upper body until she sat on his lap and they could look at each other face to face.

Too tired and wound up to see her though, Tyki simply rested his head on her chest savoring the scent and imaging only what could have been.

"I can't breathe." Reina's sudden exclaim made him realize he had wrapped his arms around her waist and holded her way too tightly.

"Sunk in yet?" he asked rather dead now that he lost the opportunity.

"Yeah, and don't get any ideas. It won't happen again." That simple statement made him scoff. Her hands were on his shoulders slightly pushing him up to get him off of her.

"I wonder about that…"

"Don't because it won't."

_We'll see. I've lasted long enough with no sample. Now that I almost had it, I'm not letting it get away that easy._

"Time'll tell," Tyki said with a hopeful yet defeated sigh and lifted her up again. Not wanting to fall, she held on long enough for him to stand back up and put her down to sit at the edge of the bed. Tyki swept his hair back and looked Reina in the eye. Her face was flustered still but her eyes still had that sheen to them back. At least she was back to her old, usual self. "Well, I should get ready then."

"Ready?" Reina's voice went over an octave. Her voice was still a bit gone but was quickly recuperating. "You're going somewhere?"

"Japan," he answered taking a sit to rest a bit before going for a much need cold shower. "My target's been jumping around but he seems to have stopped at Edo."

"Can't I go?" she quickly interjected.

A grin came to his lips. "You want to?"

"Better than staying here," Reina argued fervently. A sudden realization came over her and she pouted but seemed sad at the same time. "You saw what happened this last time. I don't want to stay and let them have their way again."

_Let's agree there._

"I'll take a shower first then," he says and gets up to leave. "You should go to your room and do the same to get ready. We're leaving as soon as I'm good to go."

She nodded and Tyki turned to leave through the door of the adjacent bathroom. It wasn't until Reina called him out to stop that he turned and watched as she got off from the bed to walk up to him. She stood there with a hesitant but flustered expression on. Soon the hesitation left and she turned to look up with a small smile.

"I know I wasn't in my right mind these past few days. And you took care of me through them even though…it must have been hard." Tyki could only stare in wonder at the sight before him. "What I'm trying to say is—" Reina took a huge breath to calm herself before her hands reached up at his shoulder. She brought him down a bit and stood on her toes to reach and place a small peck on his cheek. "Thank you for everything." With that last show of gratitude and no lasting eye-contact, Reina scurried out of his room before he could say anything.

Tyki couldn't help but sigh and reach a couple of fingers to where her lips had been. Despite the heat that the two had surely felt through the encounter, Tyki swore that that innocent little kiss made something else burn entirely in him.

_If I'm going to get that every time I help her out, I might start doing it more often._

That there was some food for thought, honestly. And as he left to take the much needed cold shower, Tyki could not keep out of his mind what they had just gone through along with all the painful yet succulent 'what-ifs' that could have happened.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Sixteen** _

**Latent Memories**

* * *

"It's beautiful."

There's no helping the words that come out of me. We get to Edo in the blink of an eye with the help of the Earl's Ark. And the sight before me just takes my breath away. I had never been outside of the U.S. back in my world. Went to California for school but besides that never left home. And seeing Japan as it is here just makes it seem like it's all a dream.

The moon shines above us and illuminates the island. The trees all around are greener than any trees I've seen. And the cherry blossoms…wow. Just the petals as they fell from the breeze made it seem like a picture from a postcard. They just look like tiny pieces of cotton candy swaying in the wind, falling to cover the dead ground and small ponds with their beauty.

"Nice to see you're enjoying the little trip."

At hearing his voice, I glance to my side to see Tyki standing there. He's wearing his tux again but no hat. It does nothing to his image though and he's still as handsome as before. And it ticks me off that those are my thoughts as we come into this place.

"I've never really seen much of the world before," I tell him while we stand there watching the scenery. "At least…not for fun."

"This isn't for fun either. You'd do best to remember that." Tyki says that with a sigh and starts walking on forth. When he doesn't see me following him, he glances over his shoulder and looks me in the eye. "Are you coming or not?"

The sudden familiarity takes me a bit by surprise but makes me sprint after him. As we walk side by side, I can't help but feel the sudden warmth in my stomach begin to grow. My mind rattles with images and sensations that it won't let rest. But they're suddenly brought to a halt when I find out where we are.

"What are we doing here?" I ask very much confused. Tyki led us to a bridge that stood above a pond with fish. Koi, I think they're called. When I turn to look at him, I find him stripped of his coat as he begins to roll the bottom of his trousers up to just below his knees. "W-What are you doing?"

"Because of what _happened,_ I didn't get to eat anything." He seems to dawdle on the reason, slightly rubbing his neck. "I'm starving." That's right, I got to eat a few bites of dinner before we left. He didn't. I think he was about to go eat when he came back to tell me what Road had done. Just before we—

_God dammit, brain! Stop thinking about it!_

I groan and burry my face in my hands in utter frustration. There's no going around them. Any little thing he says or does brings me to what happened in that room. The sound of splashing water brings me back to the present and I look up to catch Tyki walking into the pond.

I walk up to the edge of the pond, trying to not slip on the wet rocks. "What…are you doing?" He lifts a finger to keep me quiet but doesn't turn around. That one order pisses me off more than anything. "Don't shush me, you dick." My sentence comes out just when he snatches away at the water. A koi from the pond slips his hand just as the word 'dick' comes out of my lips. It lands loudly into the water and I watch it swim swiftly away from Tyki's hungry grasp.

A chuckle escapes me and he turns with an irritated look but with a grin on his face. "If you're not going to help then let me catch them in peace, lil' queen."

"You're seriously going to fish out the koi?"

"Hell, I'll eat them raw," Tyki comments and stands back up to turn fully my way.

"Gross."

"I'm hungry."

"Can't it wait?"

"Not after the great disappointment I got a few hours ago," he says with a defeated sigh. And just with that one comment, I can feel the warm blood rise to my face. Tyki seems to have noticed too for he gives me a mischievous grin. "Imaging stuff, are we?"

"I'm not." But despite my negations, I know he can see right through me. Hell, anybody would be able to right now. I have no idea why I'm like this all of a sudden. He shrugs as if accepting that answer and goes back to his fishing.

A little curious, I reach out with my fingers to touch the water. It's cold but it feels nice. My eyes come up to see Tyki creeping up to one of the koi and watch as he snatches it up from the water like nothing. Another chuckle comes and this time he doesn't hear it. My hand now submerged underwater sways back and forth and the gelid water soothes my aching skin.

It's not only my skin that's hurting either. It's my arms and legs. The fight from before with all those Akuma not only left me emotionally distraught but also physically exhausted. And because I had been dealing with so much in my head, I had completely ignored what was happening with my body.

Most of the injuries I had sustained during that fight had already healed. It amazed me really but I was already used to it. Even back home, there was never a time that I can remember where any scrape or minor injury lasted more than a couple of days. The larger wounds maybe a week. Never more though. But it didn't take the aching away. My whole body still felt like it was being filed down with sand paper. Just a constant pain that had yet to go away. But the cold water soothes it plenty. And with that a thought comes to my mind.

_My feet and legs will tire faster if they're aching. Maybe the water can help._

With my mind made up, I go on ahead and take off my heels just as Tyki returns from his fishing. He takes a sit right beside me but I pay little attention to him. "What are you doing?"

"Just want to play along," I coyly answer and start to take off my stockings. Because of the sudden leave, there was no time for me to choose what I would wear to Edo. I didn't even know what to expect. So I simply put together the outfit: a white short-sleeved blouse and a dark green skirt that reached just above my knees. The white stockings and black heels where the ones I had taken off. I tuck my legs into my body and run my hands over my legs, from my toes to my knees and feel the same filing sensation as before. It's just constantly burning.

"You okay?"

The sudden concern I hear in his voice makes me look up from my legs and turn to him. It's tough but I manage not to laugh at him actually eating the fish raw. It amazes me too that he can since it's a pretty big one.

"Yeah," I reply and keep running my hands over them. As if by doing that the annoying feeling would ebb away. "Just…burns a little."

"Your wounds hurting?"

"No, they've healed," I say. My chin comes up to my knees and rests there. "It's just like a latent sensation."

Out of the blue, Tyki's large hand comes to rest atop one of my own that lays on my feet. My eyes gander at him from under my lashes and I can see something in his. It's like concern layered over something else that I can't name. "It'll go away."

"Mm." That's all I say before a sigh escapes me. Breaking the hold that he has over my hand, I stretch out my legs and dip part of my toes in. The chill hits me instantly and it gives me shivers all over. But at the mere touch of the gelid liquid the filing sensation lessens by a lot. It's not completely gone but it's much better than before. Without thinking about how cold it would be, I dip my whole legs in and sink them to the shallow end until the water covers them just below my knees. Using my hands I propel myself up and stand inside the pond like Tyki had done a few minutes ago.

The pond's water is so shallow that when I stand in it the water barely reaches above my calf. The koi come closer once I stand still in the water and start nipping at my feet. Their tiny lips nibbling tickles my toes.

"Don't go falling in now." At looking over to Tyki, I'm surprised he's already done with the koi he caught. It's nothing but bones now that dangle from between his teeth like a toothpick. "I can't get you back home anytime soon. If you get wet, you'll get sick."

"I won't," I assure him. But his worries are wasted. I've never been sick. But at seeing him being so silly and nonchalant makes me think of something else.

He's stopped being two-faced.

Before when I first came to his family there was this clear distinction between the man he was with them and the man that he was with Eeze and the others. The way he speaks and acts around me now is much more natural. It's neither of those two. It's almost like they've blended together and it resulted in the man I see before me now. A sarcastic little prick that actually worries and cares. Despite the obvious juxtaposition, it's very nice. It's almost—dare I say—endearing.

And it didn't go past my mind that this all began the few hours before just after our little…encounter. A sigh leaves my lips and I have to squat down to let my head rest on my knees. I can feel the water licking at the edges of my skirt but I could care less at the moment.

Once again my mind is coursing with what had happened. Now my skin burned but for a completely different reason. Every time I recall the exchange I feel everything all over again. Every touch, every kiss, every bite, and every whisper feel real as I imagine them again and they make me shudder. At the mere thought of them a warm pit starts to build in my gut. I can't keep away from my head just how good it felt and how lost I became in him.

The one thought that never rose then but now did was that I never said _his_ name once. Never did Jaden's image or voice come through like it had done before. No, Tyki had engulfed me so completely that all I could think of was the way he touched me, the way he caressed and kissed me, the way he spoke to me, and most of all the way he looked at me.

He actually _looked_ at me.

And it wasn't by accident—a simple glance that he took away—it happened multiple times. It isn't something I'm about to forget. The gold hue of his eyes was imprinted in my mind from when he would look at me. And what I saw in them just blew me away. It wasn't worry nor pity, fear or nonchalance. All I saw in his eyes as he stared dead into mine was a deep sense of _need._ Pure and simple.

And although it felt a bit animalistic upfront there was something that laid even deeper than that. It wasn't just a need to satiate with flesh. It felt like a need to fill a void—a missing part of himself that he saw in me. It was a kind of desperate need that I knew fully well.

Now I could understand why the relationship I had with Jaden left me empty. It wasn't that he didn't love me or that I didn't love him back. It wasn't that we didn't satiate that lust we felt either. It was just that I felt like a leech, stealing away love by force to feel the emptiness in me. One that never felt sated no matter how much I took from him.

But with Tyki… _God._ The mutual need to fill that void changed into something completely different. It wasn't just an endless pit now. It changed into a piece of something incomplete. But when we were so close to each other—so bear in both skin and heart—it felt like something was being pieced in place.

That's why I hated the moment it stopped. Although I knew it was superfluous to tell him that it would never happen again, the truth is that there's nothing I want more. This feeling of sinking in warmth, of letting my head spiral out of control, felt more real than anything else. And it's exactly what I felt with him. Being together with Tyki just let me be myself; it allowed me to be free.

And it felt wonderful.

But…

My heart sunk at the mere thought of what a start of anything would implicate. Forget the fact that he was going around murdering people and that his whole family wanted to end the freaking world. I wasn't even _part_ of it. If what that man kept saying was true then I could still return home. And it would be expected of me to go back. I have my family back there. There's Kat and also Jaden who I know is waiting for me, worried sick. But at the mere thought, the emptiness returned stronger than ever. Just the thought of being separated now was…devastating.

Of course he was out of his ever loving mind, psychotic, and a murderer. Those things didn't change. But they didn't define him either. Just like what I did before didn't define me. What he did now—the tiny things that showed me he cared—that's who he is. That's the Tyki Mikk that he only let show around me. It wasn't the orphan who traveled with Eeze and the others. It wasn't the rich lord that flirted around with girls. It wasn't the Noah that enjoyed killing.

_To me, he's just Tyki._

I'm between a sword and a wall. No matter how I look at it, any decision will leave me hurt. And that is the last thing I want. Emptiness and numbness I could deal with; I have for over ten years. But I wouldn't be able to take another separation from a loved one. I've been ripped away from those I love far too many times.

I'd rather not start anything and leave with that peace at least. There will still be that void that won't be filled but I will have what little happiness I gathered from here with me. That's much more than I could ever ask for.

"Reina."

Tyki's voice makes me get up from my squat. I couldn't tell how long I had been there but judging by the wrinkles in my toes, it must have been a while. My body pivots so that I can catch the sight of him eating another koi. The card that held his list was floating about and they must've been talking about something because I saw this pensive look on his face that rarely came to him.

"You all right there, lil' queen? You look lost."

There isn't any hesitation when I shake my head and give him a smile. There's really no need for him to know what I've realized. That perhaps something actually grew in me for him. It really…is better if I just keep it to myself.

I let myself relax and take a deep breath. The burning sensation on my skin has faded already and I walk the distance back to shore to dry myself off. Since there's nothing to dry myself with, I simply grab his coat that he left lying around and make do with that.

"H-Hey."

I let myself sit beside him and start putting my stockings back on. Without looking at him, I only show him a grin. "Don't want me to get sick, right?"

"You damn brat," he says between gritted teeth, clearly annoyed. That just makes me scoff.

"Hey, hey~" The sudden noisy voice that rings through the air makes us both turn to find the twins coming our way. Jasdero and Devit, if I remember correctly. They kick at Tyki who blocks the hit with his forearm. The two pay no attention to me and I don't mind that. They start bickering and I leave them be until a scream from Devit and Jasdero startles me just as I put my heels back on. "That exorcist general is our prey! You lay a hand on him and we'll fucking kill you!"

"Kill you! Kill you!" Jasdero chimed in as well while Devit flipped Tyki off. Tyki seemed as confused as I am but there's little time to talk about anything before we go with the twins. They had a cart with them and seem to be going the same place we are so Tyki decides to accompany them. I'm left with no other choice but to oblige.

So as Jasdero pulls the cart with a mad speed, Devit, Tyki and I take a sit with me sitting respectively between the two. They start bickering again about work: about the twins chasing after a 'general' and about Tyki failing a mission of his. I presume that they're talking about the exorcists that they've been hunting but I can't catch the names besides that. I'm more concerned as to where we're headed.

"Where are we going exactly?" I finally say after Tyki pouts at being called a failure.

"Little pooch interested?" Devit asks with a grin and cocks his gun under my chin. There's no helping the glare that comes from my eyes. He and Jasdero have always been very overt with their games. They treat me as a toy and never take me seriously. Except that one time I threw the fork at them.

"I'm no pooch," I say through gritted teeth. Out of all the family, it seems that I'm only able to speak out my mind to them. They're younger, by the looks of it, and I've never been a pushover to the young'uns. Regardless of their abilities whatever those may be.

"And no guns either," Tyki says and his hand reaches over my shoulder to move the gun away from me. It's unexpected for him to do that but I'm glad he does.

"Bleh," Devit sticks out his tongue but puts his gun away. "You're no fun. We just like playing with sista."

"Sister?" I repeat not understanding where the nickname came from.

"Yeah!" Jasdero calls from in front of us. "The cute and scary sista!"

_Scary?_

Tyki clears his throat apparently a bit frustrated before he changes the topic completely. "Where are we headed anyway?"

"To where the Millennium Earl and Road are," Devit answers. Oh, so he's allowed to know but not the 'cute and scary sista'? Jerk.

My eyes face forth trying to ignore them and I catch the sight of someone just seconds before Jasdero runs them over. A shriek escapes me instead of the words of warning I had meant to say. We come to a screeching halt and I cover my face with my hands out of reflex. A hand's around my waist and it keeps me steady on my sit from the jerk the cart made when we stop.

It happens quickly and the mammoth that's Skin Boric comes onboard with us. He takes my place but that leaves me with no place to ride.

"This blows," I say under my breath. But before I can say anything to them, Tyki picks me up easily from my waist and simply sits me on his lap or what little space there is of it.

"This'll do," he says and without waiting for an answer Jasdero continues on. It's cramped because of Skin but we managed I guess. Jasdero goes through a bumpy road and the cart starts jumping up and down and it bothers me that I keep doing the same too. Out of the blue, Tyki wraps an arm around my waist and that at least keeps me anchored down through the road. "Comfy?"

"No," I say straight out. And I'm not lying, at least not completely. It's cramped and the road bumpy but the seat isn't half bad. "Devit, you said the Earl and Road are here?" I ask trying to change the subject again.

"If they are then that means the 'box' is ready," Tyki says a bit annoyed by the tightness of the ride.

"Guess so," Devit said, sounding just as annoyed. Tyki then asks why Skin's here as well. Apparently the general he was chasing came to Japan too. It was really curious to me in a way.

_Like an exorcist convention or something._

The sudden yelling starts when Tyki comments at their incompetence on their jobs. Skin and Devit immediately retort back quite angry. I'm forced to cover my ears but still hear Jasdero say that 'the boss' will be angry at them. The Earl, huh? As we pass over a hill, I can see in the distance a grand building that's the tallest in the city which we're approaching.

_Is that where we're headed?_

* * *

We find ourselves inside a place that I can't really explain. It weirds me out for one. As I dawdle looking at everything, I don't notice that the other four have already gone ways ahead of me down a long hall.

A bit petrified to find myself alone in this place, I run to catch up to them. The heels of my shoes clank loudly against the tiled floor and the noise makes Tyki turn to look at me. He stops briefly to let me catch up. Not wanting to get lost again, I simply grab on his sleeve. He grins but I tell him not to get any ideas.

He says he won't but that dumbass smirk tells me otherwise. We leave it at that and catch up to the others as we continue down the long dark hallway. There's not much around except floating frames with variant pictures in them. And floating frames may be normal here for all I know. But it still freaks me out just how different this place is. They keep babbling on about how this place feels nostalgic despite being there very few times.

It is at the end of the grand hall that we find ourselves in a vast room. What looks like a babe's head hangs from the ceiling held by countless of tubes that comes from a big open casket standing upright. Beneath it all lie rows of pipes after pipes of what I can only presume to be a piano or organ. Before the keyboard stands the Millennium Earl, their fat lord.

It's him who tells them what apparently he's told them before. It is the Noah genes in them that are having that sense of melancholy. Where we stand was in reality the birthplace of the all humankind: Noah's Ark.

_Noah's Ark?_

"Like the one from the Bible…?" my words, despite being whispered, are clearly heard by him and he turns a mean look to me. When our eyes meet, I get this eerie sense of dread that makes me stand back a few steps. It's my instincts telling me not to get closer.

_Keep away from him, Reina._

"Yes, pooch, like the one mentioned in the Old Testament," he clarified and I'm even surprised he did. The group of kids with me make fun of how humanity and Akuma share a birthplace but I find nothing a laughing matter. The Earl chuckles along but goes on with his speech. "Alas, the time has come where we must depart with this Ark. Goodbye Edo~ For the sake of the upcoming Ragnarok, we must move to an ark with _better_ qualifications." There was a straining of his voice on that last sentence that I can't help notice. But it quickly goes away when he asks what the lot of them are doing here and not out there doing their jobs. At being busted, they can come up with nothing but tell the Earl that the generals have converged here in Edo. That truly piques his interest.

"Prepare yourselves and meet me afterwards. I'll hear your excuses then," he says rather menacingly and that gets them moving. The Earl disappeared quickly thereafter. The rest leave in a hurry and I let go of Tyki's sleeve to look at the grand piano.

I don't understand why I feel so drawn to it but…

Without really thinking things through, I close the small distance between myself and it. My feet climb the steps up to the piano without any say from me and before I know it, I'm standing right before it. It's a complicated keyboard and most likely a concert piano.

We had one at home; much smaller but we had it. Mother got me into lessons along with Jaden but I never finished them. I hated the damn thing but loved listening to piano tracks. She didn't mind much since Kat took my place as the house pianist. Jaden wasn't the best either, he'd screwed up plenty of times and had bad hand coordination. We did learn one song, though. It was a very soothing song that Jaden taught me and I never knew where it came from.

He said it was called Dearly Beloved. What I loved about it was how simple the melody was.

Without much thought, my hands reach up to the ivory keys and feel their coldness under the nip of my fingers. I haven't touched one since the day he taught me the song. But maybe…

With my middle finger, I lightly press the key I believe it starts with. The sound reverberates softly through the myriad of pipes and it startles me a little but my hands don't move.

_That's it._

That's the right note; the one it begins with. And like riding a bike, I let my fingers move. Both my left and right hands go along and press the keys as softly as they can to let the genlte melody linger through the air.

The notes travel out and reach my ears like a heartbeat that I started. Giving life to a very simple melody that I've always liked. They almost sound like ocean waves licking at my feet as they rush up to shore and sweep back into the sea.

It's calming. My eyes follow my fingers like phantom limbs. They're there but I don't feel like they're mine. I've never played this beautifully. Or with such heart. To let it finish I simply play a tiny scale up to the last high note and let it ring in the room. The ocean waves recede back into the sea for the last time and the heartbeat stops.

"What beautiful playing."

My heart sinks to my stomach and my blood runs cold. I spin on my heels to find the last person I wanted to find me alone touching something that is his—the Millennium Earl.

He says nothing else nor do I feel a sense of dread from him. Instead he just walks up to the piano and caresses the keys. Almost like caressing a loving child. There's an air that I can't explain just sitting between us. A huge elephant that wavers in shape. At first I dare call it melancholy but then it settles and I pin it for what it is. A deep sense of grief.

"I heard them." I'm amazed that he even directs a word to me. But as he continues it's almost like he's dismissing me as the person I am. It's almost like he's simply seeing me for what I just played. "The ocean waves lapping at the shore."

He heard the same thing I did? But all thoughts go out the window when I see tears that stream down his eyes. I'm at a loss for words, really. This man—for better lack of a word—has never shown any emotion in front of me other than anger or annoyance. But this…it's crystal clear.

He sniffs loudly and I cringe at the sound. He lowers his gaze at the piano. "What is its name?"

"Name?" Suddenly the melody that I just played seconds before drifts through the air again. This time though the keys are being pushed by his gloved hand.

_He learned it just by hearing it once?_

It's amazing and I do nothing but stand and listen as the music repeats again. I hear the tide as it comes and ebbs away with every note. But beneath that all, I hear a man crying. A pure sadness that I can't describe but that I can come to understand. It engulfs me and I can remember the times when I feel just as sad.

_When I remember Papa._

"Dearly Beloved." The moment the words come out of my mouth, he stops and lets the noise disappear in the air.

"What a fitting title," he says, sniffing again before coming to stand straight again. The atmosphere changes so suddenly that it's almost like someone flipped a switch. An ominous sensation comes over me when he speaks again. "Leave."

_Don't have to say it twice._

I run down the steps, taking them two at a time, and run through the hall as far as I can. There's absolutely no way that I know where I'm going but I just go. He was livid; more than that he was grieving. And a grieving man can do drastic things.

The hall's almost over when I finally see someone familiar. Tyki just turned the corner and before he can say anything I catch up to him and grab his arm with all I have.

"Reina?"

"Let's go," I simply say, trying to ignore how much my whole body is trembling. I didn't look him in the eye but he somehow notices it too. He places a large hand on my head reassuringly and takes me away without another word.

* * *

He took me to a room in the Ark much like the one that Road had before. In this one he gets rid of much of his attire and leaves it on top of the armchair that's in the room. What he's left with is only a white shirt and his black trousers.

"You should change," he says and that catches me off guard.

"Why?" I ask, not really understanding.

He walks over to stand in front of me. Tyki towers over me by a head and that never ceases to amaze me. He bends down slightly and grabs the edge of my skirt. "You're dirty." His voice rings right beside my ears and it makes me shiver from the warmth it blows in it.

I turn my head away from him to not give him the satisfaction of my reaction. "I'll do it by myself then."

"Why when I can help?" There's little time for me to ponder on his words. Tyki reaches beside me with both hands and starts unbuttoning my skirt from the side buttons, not wasting any time.

"No, stop it. Tyki, I mean it!" I exclaim and grab his hands to stop them before he can slide the loosened skirt down. My glare comes up to meet his mischievous eyes. It's when we're like this that he actually stops. "Not the time."

"Ah, so there is a time for it then," he says coyly. His hands don't go away from my waist though and instead rest there.

"You know that's not what I mean," I retort, getting annoyed very fast.

He seems to notice my growing irritation and his semblance changes in the blink of an eye. He drops the coy façade and instead seems genuinely concerned. "Something the matter?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You've been rather jumpy since I found you," he says, playing with my skirt as a distraction for himself. "When I saw you running down the hall, you looked frantic. Scared even." There is a slight flinch that comes to me and I'm sure he notices it too for it makes him speak again. "I seem to be right. What happened, lil' queen?"

My lips become a taut line because I don't want to just blurt out what I'm thinking. Instead I'm resigned to ask a question that'll get me to the same answer. "How well do you know the Earl?"

Tyki seems genuinely baffled at my question. He scoffs as if not believing I just asked it. "Where's that coming from?"

"Mind answering me first?" I ask in return.

He heaves a heavy sigh but before answering me he catches me enough off guard to pull me towards him. Tyki lets himself fall to a sit on the armchair and pulls me along with him. Like a doll he props me on his lap in a way that I'm sitting across from it. He leans his elbow on the armrest and then his chin on his hand before facing me. If I could I would complain but I'm actually enjoying this a little.

"I haven't known him for long. Him or the family. But it's not like time would let me know him any better even if I wanted to."

"Why is that?"

Tyki's other arm wraps around my waist and lays on my thigh. His thumb traces circles on it and lifts it from time to time. Used to his shenanigans by now, I ignore it. "He's a cryptic person, the Earl. All we know is that he's the first Apostle chosen by God; a leader to guide us in the war against the Heart. He and Road survived the last fight that happened between the Heart and the Noah and has been recruiting ever since. At least that's what Road told me when I asked her about him."

"So she's the closest to him," I conclude to myself.

"Apparently so," he agrees. "Why the sudden curiosity?"

I don't really want to mention what happened in that piano room so instead I give him the next best answer. "He treats you all like a family but with a firm hand to order you on your tasks. It's just…I don't understand him."

_Or why a man as frivolous as him would cry at 'beautiful piano' playing._

"Don't try," he suggests. Tyki picks his head from his hand and instead lays it in the crook of my neck while his other hand meets the one on my thigh and holds me closer to him. His breath is warm against my skin and every time he exhales I shiver slightly. "Out of us all he's the one that many will never understand." He scoffs though at that thought. "But it doesn't really matter to me. To any of us, really."

There's nothing I have to say to that. Even he who's part of this family has doubts about who they're with. And even with those doubts they follow him. No, not follow. They accompany each other through it.

_Like a family should._

The quiet silence that settles is heavy and I break it with a sly comment to raise his mood. "Mind getting me a change of clothes?"

"I'm your servant boy now?" he asks incredulous. His face comes out from under my neck and stares into mine. "You may have gotten a little too used to being pampered, lil' queen."

"I thought you liked pampering me?" I say coyly, playing with him as he does me sometimes.

He seems to catch an innuendo that I don't mean because his hands are suddenly caressing my thigh. All the way from my panties to the edge of my stockings. Tyki starts to kiss the skin on my collarbone lightly then and I grab onto his shirt to keep myself from doing anything. At taking a little breath, he finally whispers in my ear. "Pampering you and playing with you until you cry out in pleasure are two different things, my queen."

The way he says that makes the fire at the pit of my stomach start to grow. And the kisses and caresses aren't doing anything but raising it even more. Before he can do anything further though, I grab his shirt and push his face away from me.

"We should go," I remind him since the Earl surely is waiting for all of them.

"This won't take more than a few minutes," he retorts and tries going for my neck once again. But I place the palm of my hand on his mouth to keep it from coming anywhere near me.

"You'll get in even more trouble than you already are," I say.

"Worried for me?" he asks sarcastically. "That's adorable."

"I'm not adorable," I say very annoyed by that comment. Seriously, what's with people calling me cute and adorable nowadays? "And I'm not worried. If you get in trouble there won't be anybody to hold them away from me."

"True but you're still worried," he replies before removing my hand from his face. Tyki's head sinks onto my neck again but he doesn't do anything. Instead he just lays his head on my shoulder. "But you're right. We should."

"Where is he now?" I ask, raising my head to watch the ceiling as the warmth from his face goes over all my neck. His hands come out from under my skirt and rest on my hips once more.

"Heading up top, I think." He raises his head to the ceiling too. We both face each other at the same time and because of it our noses end up touching. I'm the first one to scoff at the mere coincidence and shortly after he joins me. Our laughter fills the room for a few seconds and I can't help but think how peaceful it is.

It's definitely different from being with Jaden.

_Yeah, it's better._

Yes, brain. It is. But still…

"I need to change," I remind him once more.

"I'll bring you the change of clothes," he says, and lifts me from my sit to stand me up.

It takes him a few minutes to get the clothes back to me. But I make it up by changing quickly. What he brought me was a white, long-sleeved blouse with a square collar. A corset skirt was where I tuck in the shirt. It's a deep maroon color with a dark black petticoat. The skirt itself reaches my knees and I have to wear black stockings with the comfortable pair of boots. That's the only thing I liked that he brought me. A pair of comfortable brown, leather boots that reach my ankles. They were nice for the skirt.

When I'm done, I turn to face the mirror and look at myself for good measure. It doesn't look bad but my hair is in the way. It's gotten even longer. Give it a few more months and it'll reach my hips. In one of the drawers of a dresser, I find a red hair tie that I use to tie my hair up into a high ponytail. The curls cascade down my back and around my face as strands get out of it. It holds well so I keep it.

"Stunning as always, I see." Tyki's comment is nice to hear but it doesn't do much to faze me. It's like I'm getting used to his flattery. He comes and stands behind me but still stares at me through the mirror, gold and emeralds sheens never looking away.

"You have an odd sense of fashion that fits me," I reply and smooth out the skirt one last time. It's something I've noticed too. Everything he picks out for me tends to fit me just right. And they're really gorgeous clothes too.

"Of course it does." Tyki reaches a hand up and brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. "I picked it specifically for you. It fits the contour of that precious body of yours."

"Stop it," I reprimand.

"Stop what?"

"Complimenting me," I answer, hating that I have to spell it all out for him. "It's awkward."

"I'm not a liar—" he begins.

"A lie in itself," I quickly interject.

"Which is why I flatter you. I'm telling you the truth."

Now there's some big fat lie. "I don't believe you."

"Has no one ever complimented you in your life?" he asks while he wraps his arms around my waist from behind. The gesture is something I welcome but the question doesn't let me enjoy it.

_Jade._

"There is someone…"

At that mention though, his grip on me gets a bit tighter. "Let me guess. A certain someone named Jaden?"

_What?_

Not bothering to turn, I look over my shoulder and up to face him. "How did you—"

"You've said his name plenty of times before. Asleep or awake." Tyki's hold gets even tighter and it's starting to hurt me. "Hard not to think that nothing's happened between you."

A part of me doesn't want to admit it so I go for the second best thing. "He's my brother."

Tyki's scoff shocks me quite a bit. "Even harder to believe. That one night I first began teasing you was the night you said his name." _He noticed!?_ "Barely a whisper but I know what I heard. And it's annoying."

"Annoying?" I repeat, incredulous that he would even say that in front of my face. That's the last straw that I can bear. I push away from him and give us some distance. The look in his eyes is aloof but I can tell he's angry. But then again he has no right to be. "What I think or do has nothing to do with you."

"What are you mad about?" he asks. And that just makes me more livid.

"That you're trying to get me to act and think like you want me to," I growl through gritted teeth. "I'm not a bitch you paid a dime for, Mikk. And I ain't some defenseless girl either. I can think whatever the hell I want and about whoever the hell I want."

"I'm doing no such thing," he tried to defend himself but I knew his little ploys. There's never any direct say of what he wanted. Only tiny words or phrases he used. The same way that Road faked around her foster mother. The same way he pranced around ballrooms wooing girls. "C'mon, Rei—"

But before he even has a chance to reach me with his hand, I step back. The anger still boils somewhat because of how he tried to manipulate me. So I decide to end the conversation now. "We should leave. Now." And with no further say, I go ahead of him and exit through the door.

But once outside I realize how dumb I really am.

_I don't know fuck about this place._

"Sista?"

At hearing the odd nickname, I turn to find the twins coming from the opposite side of the hall. Both pointing their guns at each other. The one who had called me had been Devit but Jasdero doesn't stay far behind.

"Sista's all alone, hihi!

"Odd to see the pooch out of the leash," Devit comments with a grin and that just annoys me.

"Listen here, kids," I say, finally snapping from the overload of emotions at the moment. "I may not have a knife or fork on me to throw but I can assure that I throw a damn good punch." They both stare surprised. "I'm not in the mood so don't push me."

"Is the cute sista mad?" Jasdero asks as they come over closer to me.

The glare I give them I think is enough of an indicator. Devit whistles at seeing my face. "Yep, you're mad. How come? Did that vagabond finally let you go?"

"Who're you calling a vagabond?" Tyki's voice comes out of the room and we turn to find him leaning against the threshold of the door I just came out of. "We're leaving to where the Earl is. Come on, Reina." He's clearly mad as well but I'm not letting him win me on this.

_And I know exactly how to get even._

"No." There's no hesitation in my answer and that shocks him plenty. Good. I come up to the twins and put my hands through their arms to have one at either side of me. "Devit and Jasdero are taking me there instead."

"We are?" the two ask together.

"Mm," I reply and hold them even closer. "Since I'm treated as property, I might as well be shared with the rest of the family. Don't you two think so?" It's a little degrading to call myself that but it's the only way I can think of to get them onboard with what I'm doing. And it works.

"Yeah, Tyki. Sista is supposed to be everybody's! So she's coming with us," Devit says pointing the gun haphazardly at Tyki.

"Yeah, cute sista's coming with us!" Jasdero exclaims as well and both hold my hands tightly. They start walking me away and just as we pass Tyki, I flash him a gloating grin with a wink.

_Serves him right._

* * *

Roofs. Heights.

Damn them all.

This tower is too damn high. And it doesn't do my nerves any good that we're standing on the roof of the tallest one there is. Standing at the tail of a stone koi decoration is the Earl. Skin stands on one side of the body while the twins and I take the other. Sadly, though, I'm closest to were Tyki's sitting. Although we went the same way, I kept tight with the twins and didn't direct him a single glance. And he didn't seem to want to talk to me either.

_Fine. Two can play that game._

I've had my fights before. And when it came to the cold shoulder, I never lost. The Earl suddenly called for his army of Akuma to gather before him and when they do, I'm amazed and frightened at the mere number of them. They shine in the night sky like a bunch of fireworks. They're so many that the light they give off is enough to shed light upon the whole city.

_So many…killing machines._

That's what they are and I can't never forget that. Just like I can never let myself forget what the Noah are as well. And where I stand when in concern to them. I'm nothing but a plaything.

"Cute sista, you all right?" Jasdebi's sudden question takes me by surprise.

"You won't fall, sista. We can make sure of that!" Devit assures me but I'm not really convinced.

The reason they asked me seems to be because of the way I'm clinging to the koi's stone head for support. The roof has tiles that are slanted. If I so much as step the wrong way, I'm slipping right down and straight to the floor. And I'm not willing to risk that.

"She won't. She doesn't like heights." Tyki's sudden comment irks me. Especially because he's right.

"Shut up, Tyki!" Devit says and goes on to another topic. "Besides that, you should go and leave already! There's nothing left for you to do in Japan. Go do your next job!"

"Cross belongs to Jasdevi, hihi!" Jasdero added. But no matter what they say, Tyki's just ignoring them completely. Because of the wind, the smoke from his cigarette comes along my way and I clearly smell it. It's stopped bothering though. After smelling it during our close encounters it's kind of just penetrated my nostrils. And I can distinguish the cheap brand he always buys.

"Tyki-pon." The Earl's sudden call makes me look his way.

"Please stop calling me that, Millennium Earl," he comments but the Earl doesn't seem to care. He continues to explain about the Innocence and tells him to not underestimate it. Tyki calls out an Akuma and sends it out to finish his job. The Earl says he'll lend them a hand this time but that they should do their jobs properly. The glare that he gives them makes me flinch as well.

_They're really taking this whole war thing seriously._

"Attack my Akuma!" the Earl orders and points them away with Lero. "Strike down the generals as one!" But just as the Akuma are beginning to separate something surges from the ground and circles around in the air. By the intensity of the light and how it's swaying around, my mind goes straight to fire.

But there's a resemblance to something else in that fire.

"A snake…" my voice comes out and tells my conclusion.

"Sista's right," Devit agrees as we all watch the fire reptile swing around. But before any of us can make any other observation it starts heading right our way with a lot of speed.

"This isn't good." Tyki's voice barely reaches my ears. "Look out!" But what I do feel is his arm around my waist as he pulls me away from the roof. He leaps off from it along with the rest just as the fire snake reaches the roof. We all manage to get away somehow. At least that's what I thought until Devit points out that the Earl was eaten by it.

But the attack does nothing because the Earl simply vanquishes it with one of his own. The fire snake breaks into tiny particles of bright orange red that float down from the sky like snow. Tyki and I land on an Akuma that places itself beneath us so that we can stand. But I don't let go of Tyki's neck despite our previous argument. And neither does he let go of me. Our problems forgotten, he looks down at me and I can see in his eyes what he means to ask.

" _ **Are you all right?"**_

I just give him a slight nod as my answer and set my eyes upon the scene far ahead and below in the city. In a high and large rooftop there I can see a group of people. Barely visible really but they're there.

And by the way that everybody is acting I can assume that they're Exorcists. A couple of them launch towards us but three Akuma get in their way. A battle ensues that I can't help but witness. Especially because of the great sense of déjà vu that I'm getting.

A fire snake.

" _You know where it comes from, Reina. What made it?"_

"A hammer."

"What?"

"The weapon that made the snake is a hammer." I don't know from where but I remember it clearly. The person who uses a hammer can summon fire snakes. And after I say that another two appear from the floor to fuse together. The huge hammer of that one person grows in size and propels something into the air. And though I can barely see them, that sense of déjà vu comes back.

" _Think harder, Reina. You know what they are."_

There are some other things I can remember too. Blood—a vampire. Not just that but there's also…someone who uses needles. A clock too. And one girl. One that stuck to my memory well.

"The one with the crystal," I murmur under my breath as the attack that was sent pulverizes the three Akuma they had been fighting. "She's the one with that crystal."

Out of the blue, the two who had been fighting before start to head our way with every intent to attack. "Now all that are left are you bastards!" the one with the hammer exclaims loud enough for us to hear.

Tyki gives my side a slight squeeze before he speaks out loud. "Millennium Earl, I'll go." He leaves me in place quickly and jumps down to face the other two.

But despite the fact that I'm left alone, there's something that I can't shake off of me. As Tyki stands at a rooftop some way from the group of exorcists, they're ready to fight him and something hurts in me.

A feeling I can't ignore. My chest tightens and it gets harder to breath as this feeling overwhelms me. It's powerful, whatever haves me. Like a claw of some animal that urges me to go forth. I want to go and… _do what exactly?_

_Protect them._

"Huh?"

Protect them…? But…why would I do that? I may not like meaningless blood-shed but I'm not stupid. Even if I wanted to go down there and fight too, I knew it was a stupid idea. And that didn't count the thirty-or-so feet drop that I would have to do.

But the feeling didn't vanish. In fact it just keeps growing. And just by the intensity of it, I can tell that it isn't my own. I don't know why but I know that I can't give in this easily. It wants me to protect; fine I'll do it, but on my own terms. And when I'm capable of doing so.

But the feeling never ceases. It just grows and festers inside me as the fight continues. The Akuma gather and join into a giant puppet that attacks those that have been left out of the fight with Tyki. Things start happening way too fast as more and more parties start coming into the fight. And as the fight continues bits and pieces of something come back to me.

A young man with a katana. Another with strings. And an old painter.

Why can I remember these things?!

" _Because you've seen them before."_

And that just feels right. It feels so nostalgic because…I've seen it before but from where? If I could remember that—

" _What would you make of that, foreteller?"_

"Foreteller…?" No. This isn't my mind. "Speak clearly to me if you're going to show yourself, you bastard!" I growl under my breath as harshly as I can but low enough for others not to hear.

" _Ara, took you a while there."_

You bastard—you know exactly what's happening. Answer me! Why the hell am I remembering these things!? Why am I right?!

" _Because you've seen this before. In your world that is. Seeing them again so vividly seems to have rattled your memories quite a bit."_

"In my world?" I whisper to myself.

" _I can't speak for much longer but remember one thing. You're here for a purpose. As the foreteller you hold the answers of this future in your hands. The outcome won't change but how it gets there…that's a whole other story for you to wri—"_

His voice suddenly gets distorted and a crackling of energy loud like thunder makes me cover my ears with my hands. Turning to face the Earl, I see that he's holding a strange sphere in his hand.

"Reina." I've become so distracted that I don't even notice when Tyki gets back. He's beside me standing on thin air. Surely it must be his ability that's allowing him to do that. But I can't concentrate much on one thing. My heads splitting with the pain. "Reina, are you—"

"No," I groan between gritted teeth. It feels like my head's stuck in a static channel. It's so loud and painful that I barely hear Tyki's voice anymore. But I want him to know. My hands hold my head now wholly and I'm putting as much pressure as I can to at least ease the pain. But it's in vain. "It hurts."

My sight begins to blur but I manage to see the Earl sending the black sphere out into the city. As it spreads it causes destruction in the empty city. But the way it ravages through it just causes my heart to twist. The others are down there, the exorcists.

They'll die.

_Protect them._

"Stop this…" my voice barely comes out and I take a step without thinking. When I feel nothing but air beneath me, there's no sense of dread. But before I fall to my death, Tyki manages to grab a hold of me and hauls me to his side. But with nowhere to stand he finds himself needing to hold onto me himself.

"Reina."

"Please, make him stop," I call out but can't do much besides hold my head as it splits open with the noise bursting my eardrums from the inside out. It's an unbearable pain that I can describe. It just…hurts.

But then just as sudden as it came it vanishes without a trace. In my head there's finally blissful silence and I can finally let my hands go. There's no more noise or pain. Just a disturbing quiet. "You're amazing, Millennium Earl. And terrifying." Tyki's words make no sense to me until my eyes have enough focus to look out at Edo.

_Or what remains of it._

There's nothing there. Nothing but a black void of the land having been floored.

"Edo's completely vanished." Tyki lowers us to the roof of the tower we had begun at and stands me. But I'm weak and unbalanced from what my brain went through. I fall to my knees immediately and he takes a knee beside me. "How're you?"

"The noise is gone."

"Noise?"

The concern in his voice is more obvious than ever. "I'm okay, I think." My eyes go back to the void as do his and I try to find the exorcists they had been fighting against. The dust from the sudden attack still floats around the city and covers most of it from my sight. But there's something tugging at my mind again.

_The girl with the crystal._

"She's there."

Tyki hears me but he himself finds a live one in the flesh. "Ah, I spot an exorcist! He's still in one piece too." That's right, they're all going to survive.

_How do I know that?_

The one word of 'foreteller' comes to mind. If that man is right and I have seen all this before in my world then this world existed in some form or shape in mine. But I can't remember well.

But as more of the dust clears, we finally spot what I knew in my gut would be there.

"The girl in the crystal."

Tyki holds my shoulder tightly, almost as if assuring me. "Stay here. I'll be back to get you." It isn't like I can move but I nod nonetheless and watch as him and Skin disappear from my sight. At the next blink of an eye they're already on the ground fighting against the young man with the katana and the hammer.

They're trying to protect the girl while the Noah want to take her. An abnormal Innocence would be a likely indicator that it's the Heart. That's why they were searching amongst the Generals. It made sense. And it made sense why the Earl went ahead to get her while the others distract the standing exorcists.

_And that girl has a strange one, indeed._

Innocence doesn't protect its user. Much less those that are equipment-type.

Huh? My hand comes up to my head a bit confused. Equipment-type Innocence? Where…did I hear that from?

 _No, don't get lost in yourself. Your mind's playing with you_.

All this is what I'm trying to set right with myself but it's hard. It's almost like trying to control two people in me. There's the one who knows what's going on and then there's me. But I want to know. Where is all this information coming from?!

A crackling noise makes me turn skyward just in time to see a rupture come through the sky. From it something trickles down onto the dark sphere where the Earl and the girl were. A Gate…like the ones the Earl uses.

Someone's here. But who…?

_Allen Walker._

The name comes to me like an epiphany. And I could have sworn I've heard it before. Another fight breaks out and this time it's between the Earl and whatever came out of that gate. From where I am, I see nothing but a stark white coat.

_A white clown._

Damn it, brain. Stop it. Stop messing with me! An explosion from below shakes the whole land and I try my best to ignore the headache that's starting to form. My eyes catch the cloud of dust that starts spreading through the city, cloaking it once again.

"Reina." I can barely hear his voice but he's here and I couldn't feel more relieved.

"Tyki…"

"We have nothing else to do here." It's muffled as my consciousness drifts in and out but I recognize it as the Earl's. The city below us still lies in a cloud of dust that impedes any vision for whoever's down there. "Let us make our leave."

"But Earl—" Tyki's objections are quickly ignored and he gets dragged away into the gate that the Earl created leading into the Ark. Not only do I notice him dragging Tyki by his collar but also Skin. I intend to follow but my balance is still out of the norm. It's hard to keep standing.

But before I fall clumsily to my knees again, a hand grabs onto mine and drags me along. The only reason I know that I've gone through the gate when I'm this out of it is because of the intense pressure change that leaves as quickly as it comes. The second indicator is that the air is fresh and my lungs can finally breathe in clean air.

And the fact that I'm still holding Tyki's hand as the Earl drags him along the floor is also a pretty good reminder. My consciousness slowly starts becoming whole again when we're inside the Ark. The more we walk along the streets towards the tower the more I feel my strengths coming back and a warm sensation where our palms are connected.

Once I can think again properly there're no more odd subconscious thoughts that surface. All the memories the fight had triggered were done with but it's still enough information to drive me out of my mind.

Because Tyki's being dragged around, me holding his hand sort of feels like a child holding onto a teddy bear that they're dragging around the floor. He starts complaining about being dragged out of the fun fight. But I'm glad we left. It felt like the more I was there, the more I was starting to lose my mind.

"There's only four more hours until the download's complete." Road's voice catches my attention and makes me look up to one of the balconies where she stands. She jumps from it after the Earl tells her she's done a good job.

It's then that the Earl tells Tyki about his target having interfered with him. At that the thought of the white clown and that name come to my mind. He's the one that they're talking about. And I know I've seen it before somewhere but I can't place my finger on where.

"Pooch." Unconsciously, I look up at Road who's now hanging around the Earl's neck. The surprised look on her face makes me blink. "You seem out of it."

"Headache," I immediately say. Maybe a bit too fast. I try to cover up my lie as quickly as I can. "The whole mess left me numb is all."

"Not use to war? Too bad you never got to that stage of your training, huh? Would've been useful." That comment makes me get my guard back up. Road's not taking any mercy on me so I won't let her see any opening. But now that my senses are back and fully on, there's something that I notice.

The air…there's a smell in it.

"Tyki did you change cigarette brands?" Road's question makes me think that she noticed this too.

"What's with the sudden change of topic?" he asks looking up at her as she lays on the Earl's back on her belly. "And no, I haven't."

"Mm." Road's eyes go to me but then quickly go behind me. Out of reflex, I glance over my shoulder but there's no one there and that unnerves me more for some reason. "Hey, Millennium Earl~ Where's Lero?"

* * *

"You feeling okay?"

My eyes come up from the mirror that I've been sitting before to the shape that forms on the door. Tyki stands leaning against the threshold and only stares at me through my reflection. The Earl brought us back to the Ark and told them to go on with their jobs. The exorcists would be dealt with along with the faulty Ark. We now sat in the Kamelot's mansion once more.

I'd been in my room for a few minutes now and had just washed my face to feel the coolness soothe my head. The reason I was sitting here so calmly simply staring at my hands on my lap was because I was trying to think.

Trying to figure what the hell was going on in my head.

"I guess. There's no noise."

"You said that before, too," Tyki says, coming closer and standing behind me. "What noise are you talking about?"

"Static," I clarify and hold one ear. "Out of the blue there was so much noise in my head that I felt like it was going to explode. But just as it came it left and all I was left with was a sense of vertigo. But I'm okay now."

"You sure?" He places a hand on my head. "You looked like you were in pain back there?"

"I was," I assure him. I glance over my shoulder and look him directly in the eye. "But I'm okay now. I promise."

"Mm." Tyki bends down though a gently places a kiss on my forehead. It's nothing like those desperate kisses. In fact it feels like something I would give him. It's chaste and soft but spoke volumes of him. "Just take it easy, my queen."

"Stop calling me that."

"Not on your life."

"I'll take that bet~"

Tyki steps back and I turn completely around to see Road coming in through the door that Tyki left open. The mischievous grin tells me right away that she's up to no good.

_Like that's nothing new._

"What's up, Road?" Tyki asks in my stead.

"I was wondering if you wanted to have some fun, Tyki," she says with a grin on her face. "I'm planning to go and play with the exorcists. How about it? Want to play a game with me?"

My eyes come up to him and widen at seeing the cynical smirk on his face. "Sounds interesting. Count me in." For some reason, I can't keep myself from standing up and grabbing his sleeve. "Reina?"

"I'm coming too."

"Pooch wants to join us?" Road repeats with an amused expression on her face. "That's new. What's changed?"

"Nothing," I assure her. "I just want to go and learn more about these exorcists."

"Curious?" Tyki asks. There's nothing I can do but nod.

Road chuckles and closes the door behind her. She comes up to me and lifts my chin with her fingers. When our eyes meet for a few seconds there's a smirk that appears on her lips. "All right, then." She turns around and as she's doing so, one of her doors bursts from the ground. The doors open completely and let us see the void on the other side that will surely lead us back into the Ark. One that will be gone in less than four hours. "Let's go then~"


	17. Chapter 17

_**Seventeen** _

**Premonition**

* * *

The room Road takes us to is rather small. I don't think it can be considered a room. A studio maybe? That's the closest word I can think of at the top of my head to describe this little space. Two chairs stand at the far side of the room with a small coffee table separating them. Book shelves stand to the right of the room while different picture frames decorate all the other walls. The only thing amiss in the room is the lone window that's just above the chair closest to the left side.

"This will do just fine~" Road says and sprints by me to take the chair right beneath the window. Rude, simply rude. But I need to keep these annoyed emotions to myself.

I find it odd that Tyki's not behind me but when I turn to see if he's following us, I find no one there. "Where—"

"He went to meet the Exorcists that came into the Ark." At Road's answer, I turn to find her propped up in her chair. She's facing me and she has her legs up cradled against her body. "You miss him already?"

_This brat._

"No," I reply as calmly as I can muster myself to. "But it's not like I'll enjoy your company any better either."

"Rather truthfully, aren't ya?" she asked with a chuckle.

"You've made it obvious you don't like me. Might as well make the same clear to you," I say straight forth. "You're a pain in my ass, and I'm not about to give you another opening to fuck around with me."

"Useless to try but I admire your tenacity." That comment makes me frown but she just chuckles and instead stretches an arm out to get a book. "Don't sweat it though," she says and thumbs through the book, "I want to have fun with the Exorcists today."

_Good._

At least that way she'll back off for a while. Not wanting to be near her either, I go and take a book from the shelf too and pretend to read it. But what I'm focused on is actually what's happening right now. A sudden earthquake makes my mind even more focused on an issue I have. This place, according to Road, has already started its final downloading. Only a few rooms apart from the city and tower are left. The more time that passes by, the more it falls apart and disappears. If I have kept my time straight ever since we came back there's only short of three hours left before this whole place comes crumbling down.

And Road's little plan…ugh.

She wants to toy around with the Exorcists. It's even worse that Tyki decided to join adhering to his murderous side. And what I can't believe is that I actually volunteered to come back here. It's ridiculous really that I'm putting myself in harm's way to come here. But the burrowing feeling in my stomach won't leave me alone. The pit in my gut gives me the same kind of pain as the one that had surfaced in my head some time ago in Edo.

It's just a bad sense of foreboding. Like I know something bad's going to happen. My mind didn't have time to argue with what my body told me and instead followed suit when I asked to follow. And what I told Road wasn't a lie either. I want to know more about those Exorcists. I want to know why I feel this sense of déjà vu when I look or think of them. A feeling that has only gotten stronger the more I linger in this place.

_I've got to find out what this is. And why I'm even remembering all these things._

The idea of the "foreteller" comes to mind once again but that term is vague, and is honestly getting really old. If I knew that things would happen beforehand like the man said then traversing this world would be much easier.

The sudden ruckus of the door opening makes me turn to see Tyki walking through. "What a laugh they are," he quaintly says and closes the door behind him before striding over to take a sit. His languid posture tells me how tired he is. Exhausted even. And despite that he's here.

"You gave 'em the key?" Road asks.

"Yeah." Tyki rummages through his pocket and pulls a cigarette that he lights with the lit candle that's on the table between them. Once he has that, he pulls out a circular piece of silver. A small button. And I know where it's from. He begins to toss it in the air, flipping it like a coin, before catching it and repeating the action. "How long do you suppose till they reach the top?"

"With Skin waiting for them in the first room, who knows?" Road says and she chuckles at a thought of her own. "Maybe they won't last and he'll kill them all."

"Sure hope that's not the case," Tyki replies with a scoff of his own. "I want a piece of that action. If not, what the hell did I come here for?"

A sigh escapes me at how cynical they are. Seriously, it reminds me of two kids playing with an anthill. At that thought, I shudder. They're worse than that. I've seen it firsthand. And while I wouldn't want to see that ever again, I wouldn't wish it on these kids either.

"Something the matter, pooch?" When I hear Road asking me something, I turn surprised that she's even talking to me. When I don't answer her she simply giggles. "Didn't like what we said?"

"You know I didn't."

"Yep, I do."

"Then why ask?"

"Because I'm interested." That makes me bring up my eyes to face her. The grin she has on her face is starting to majorly piss me off. "I know you don't like killing, and I also know why. But I don't get why you deny that it's fun~"

"It's not fun," I say almost instantly.

It seems that she was expecting this right out of the bat because of that smile she gives me. "But you've tortured people before, right? Cut their ears, gouged out their eyes, cut their tongues or fingers off—"

"And they haunt me every time I close my eyes at night." My eyes wonder not wanting to look at her directly. This, however, brings me to catch Tyki's sight. He's staring right at me with an intrigued look. He stopped toying with the button and instead just looks at me. And despite myself, I don't look away. "I did those things because I was forced to."

"By Noir?" Road asks yet again. This Q&A is becoming tedious, especially because she's asking things to which she surely already has the answers to.

"You tell me," I say back not wanting to play her little game.

She giggles instead though and says something I couldn't have been prepared for. "You could've refused, you know?"

But the answer is out of me before I can think about it. "And risk getting myself killed?" A scoff comes out of me at how ridiculous her question is. "No thank you." I bite my lip the moment those words are out of me. Those thoughts were things that I never voiced to anyone. Yes, I hated what I did but I did them because I was scared. Only a little girl who didn't know better.

"And that's normal." When I hear this, I finally look away from Tyki and turn to Road who has a smile on her face. Not a maniacal or creepy one. Just a normal smile, one that almost makes her look like a normal child. "For humans to strife to live no matter the price when pinned in hopeless situations. It's perfectly normal, isn't it?"

"Absolutely." I don't understand why Tyki's the one to answer her.

"What about the Exorcists, though?" I ask not wanting to back down from this argument. "They fight against you even when they're clearly overwhelmed."

"They're the clear exception, and a bunch of morons," Tyki answers this time. "What they fight for is nothing but a false hope that they're clinging onto."

_That's not true._

But I don't voice that thought. Instead I let the conversation die out and lean back until my back hits the shelves behind me. Tired from what's happen all day, I let myself slip down to a sit. My knees come up as I cradle my legs to my body. I burry my face in my knees and wrap my arms around my legs.

There's silence after I do this and it hits me hard. I haven't had a silent moment yet with myself. They're always interrupted. I can't think through things when others are around talking to me. But now that there's nothing but a disturbing quietness, the thoughts bombard me mercilessly.

The fight in Edo keeps repeating in my head and the more it does, the more I see it being played from different angles. My brain is able to see faces of the exorcists, their distinctive injuries and their strengths, the way they move and even talk. It's almost like watching a movie.

And with every passing thought, this burning sensation continues to brew in me. Before I just thought that it was the aftermath of the fights Road made me go through. Now I know for a fact it isn't. It's like a very bad gut feeling that I'm getting about all that's happening now. My palms and soles of my feet feel like they're hovering over a burning fire. My whole body feels like there's a warm liquid running through my veins, making a very irritating sensation to spread under my skin. It itches. It's bothersome.

_Almost like a baby, it's crying for me to put attention to it._

But I don't. I can't at this moment so I simply let it fester in my body. It's annoying and it almost feels disgustingly defiling, but I let it be for now.

A few minutes pass, little earthquakes hit that don't startle me much, and I'm almost drifting off to sleep this away when a big earthquake hits. And by big, I mean _big_. It shakes the room and it freaks me out enough to stand up and sprint over to Tyki. The two of them don't seem perturbed in the least though. Road has a book over her face and seems to be asleep. Tyki just has his face lowered and stops tossing the button in the air. The earthquake calms down but what it leaves behind is a very somber atmosphere.

"Rest well, Skin." My eyes come to Road who lifts a candy in her air with her fingers.

"Sweet Tooth lost?" Tyki asks nonchalantly but doesn't raise his head.

"Yeah," Road answers and their conversation confuses me. Sweet Tooth, that's the name Tyki called Skin when we met him earlier in Edo. He's…dead? "But I didn't feel the guy Allen and the others left behind leave through my door either."

"A double kill, huh?" Tyki murmurs. But when I hear his voice there's something odd. It's hard to help myself so I take a few steps to stand in front of Tyki. My hands reach to his neck and my palms cup his chin to make him face up to look at me. What I see astonishes me.

"Why…" the whisper I let slip from my lips is soft but he doesn't look away, even when the tears stream down his frowning face, "are you crying?"

"Are you really crying, Tyki?" Road's amused voice asks and her hand reaches from the side. He doesn't let her touch his face like he did me, though, and stops her hand gently from reaching.

"Don't touch," he says as the tears come down. "I can't stop them. It's odd. Can the Noah inside us cry?"

Road's laugh sounds forced through my ears and makes me turn to face her too. When I do, her book's falling from her face and through the grim smile she's giving, the tears pour down her eyes too.

_What in the world…?_

"Maybe so," Road answers. "I guess…Noah's can cry too."

The instant the door is blown out of its hinges, I'm startled to the point that I actually jump back a step and turn abruptly to face whomever just destroyed it. From the other side, the twins come in and their faces are a mess.

"Road," Jasdero asks with a sniffle, "do you have a tissue?"

"Oh," Tyki says when he sees them too. "Your tears are black."

"Dumbass Tyki!" Devit yells with his gun aloft.

"Our make-up is running, hii!" Jasdero adds.

And indeed it is. The tears that keep streaming down their faces are colored black by the heavy black eye-liner that they constantly use. Neither Road nor Tyki make a move to give them anything. A sigh comes out of me and I walk over to a cabinet and take out a pair of white towels.

Before anybody can object, I walk up to the twins and give Devit his while I go and help Jasdero clean his face. It takes a lot for me to ignore the chicken that he has in his arms but I do somehow. I reach with my hand under the towel to gently wipe away the dark make-up that smears his face. Both twins stare at me in confusion but only Jasdero speaks up.

"Sista?"

"Don't move," I tell him and continue to wipe his face. He squirms under my cleaning but eventually settles and only stares dumbfounded and in awe. Once I'm done I pat his head and give him the towel to hold as more tears come down. I turn to Devit who had clumsily begun to clean his own face but he's simply smeared it all around. "Let me—"

"Don't touch—"

"Let me do this for you, dammit!" I shout a little too loud but I calm myself. My shoulders become somewhat tense but I remember that I can't let myself be angry at them. Not right now. They all seem so pained by the loss of one of theirs and I can't help but feel empathy. I snatch the towel from his hands and say, "Bend down a little." For being younger than me, he and his brother are a few inches taller. But because Jasdero slouches so much I didn't have a problem with him; not much with Devit though. He does as I tell him without backtalk and I go ahead to help get him cleaned. The make-up's smeared on his cheeks and around his eyes so I gently wipe it away. "There," I say once done and give him the towel back.

He grabs the towel with both his hands and covers his face up to his eyes but mumbles a small 'thanks'. The measly show of gratitude makes a smile come to my face. Jasdero comes and holds onto my arm and I hear him sniveling more but also hear the 'thanks, sista' that he tells me. My hand comes up to his head and I pat him even more.

"Don't you think that's enough, already?" I glance over my shoulder to see Tyki having raised from his seat and see him frowning my way. That the tears are still pouring despite his wiping them doesn't make him that menacing though.

_Just like the twins. They're just hurt and vulnerable._

"Shut up, dumbass Tyki!" Devit yells and he grabs onto my other free arm. "Sista's trying to make us feel better!"

"Yeah!" Jasdero says holding on tighter to the arm his holding. "Sista's being nice to Jasdevi!"

And because of what's happening I don't wave their childishness away. Completely the opposite. "Let them be, Tyki." My eyes come to look at both the twins as they stare up at me with their clean but tear-stained faces. Without their make-up they seem so much nicer and calmer. They seem like any other teenager.

"Shall we hold a farewell party in Skin's honor?" Road suggests. And just like that the others silently agree. The twins separate from me and get some stuff ready with the others.

It takes them a couple of minutes but they prepare a neat table that has a plate of candies and a glass of wine for Skin along with a couple of candles and a white flower in a small vase. It is simple but really nice for a farewell party. All the while they do this I sit down on the chair Tyki left vacant. I'm not part of their family and I can't share their pain no matter how much empathy I may feel. So all I do is stay back while they do this and wait to pay some respects to him. They each serve themselves a drink: Tyki gets wine, the twins get some soda, and Road some milk. The twins are about to put the soda and glasses away when I stop them.

"Care if I join in the farewell too?" I ask with a weak smile.

"Why?" they all turn to Road when she asks this. Her voice is calm and low but I can feel the anger behind it. "You hate us because we're bad, don't you? Why mourn one of ours?"

Jasdero and Devit pour me a drink despite what she said and I hold it in both my hands. At hearing that, words that Papa told me long ago ring in my head and I tell them word by word to her. My eyes come to meet hers and that's when I tell her. "Good or bad, it doesn't really matter. All the dead deserve a prayer."

Road doesn't say anything else but instead returns to look at Skin's little goodbye feast. The somber look returns to her and I can tell she doesn't want to fight now. The grief weighs more than anger. She raises her glass before saying, "Farewell, Skin."

"Goodbye," Devit says, following suit while Jasdero blows his nose noisily and they both bow their heads. Tyki doesn't speak but grimly raises his glass. I do the same and once that's done we all take a drink of our cups. None want to drink much.

When Road and the twins put theirs down, I can see more tears coming down all their faces. Road comes to take the seat beside me and begins talking about Skin's Noah, wrath. Mostly about how it was so different from Jasdevi's bonds, Lulubell's lust, Tyki's pleasure, or her dreams because it was the most vivid and pitiful of Noah's memories. The twins lament him once more as well from what she tells them.

This all just puts a sour taste in my mouth that I try to drown with the soda they gave me. This reminds me too much of Gerard and Sebastian's funerals, my two oldest brothers. Both had joined the army and had gone on several tours but it was not long before my eighteenth birthday that we received the news. Everything was forgotten when our whole family fell apart. Even I forgot much of that chilly November. Their funerals were much of a blur. The only noise that rung in the air was the noise of the brass instrument and even now I hear it humming lightly in my head.

"Sista?"

I blink a couple of times when I hear Jasdero call for me. The twins are on the other side closer to Road but they come closer to my chair to ask me something.

"Road told us that you sing," Devit says trying really hard to wipe off the tears that keep coming.

"Would you sing a pretty song, Sista?" Jasdero says with a sniffle before he blows his nose.

"Stop pestering—"

"Of course." My eyes come up to Tyki and apologize for interrupting him but I felt like I needed to. Even when he protested, I can see the tears that he's crying and even though they may not be his—or any of theirs, possibly—they're still hurting inside. And I abhor that. "What would you like to hear?"

"A lullaby for Skin," Road requests and all the heads turn to her except mine.

_She's no different. They're all hurting right now._

There's not much I remember about sad songs. I know there was a period after the boys' funeral that I just was stuck in my room listening to a lot of depressing music. But there was one that Kat and I found that she really liked. I clear my throat and then softly begin to sing it to them.

" _Sleep soundly safe in his heart_ _  
_ _You no longer have to face the evil in the dark_ _  
_ _Just rest your mind, and leave your pain behind_ _  
_ _Remember softly, of a time when the world was so bright—_ _"_

Even though it's little the pain I feel, it still wrings my heart and makes my throat a little dry. The twins come up closer to me. Jasdero squats down and lays his head on one side of my lap. Devit reluctantly does the same. With both their heads on it, I simply start stroking their heads soothingly in an attempt to calm them down.

" _You've fought so bravely, my dear_ _  
_ _And so you can rest, for now there's nothing left to fear_ _  
_ _Fighting onward, you dreamed unreachable things_ _  
_ _But now your dreams carry you to a place where these things come true—"_

My eyes wonder and I catch Tyki leaning back on the book shelf closest to us. His hands are shoved in his pants' pockets and his face is watching the ceiling as the tears continue on. I then look over to Road who only huddles in herself and leans her chin on her knees as she listens.

_"I'll hold your hand while you sleep_ __  
_So don't be afraid, I won't let shadows touch your dreams_ __  
_Maybe in time, we'll leave this all behind_ _  
_ _We'll look up skyward, and the stars, they will shine in your eyes—"_

At that moment I stop when my voice cracks and I unconsciously whimper. Just when I reach my hands to my cheek and feel the odd wetness, the twins reach up with both the towels and do as I did with them and gently catch my small tears.

"I'm sorry," I groan but smile at the unfamiliar but welcomed kindness.

They both shake their heads and hang them low before raising up from their place. At that moment, Tyki begins asking them something while I deal with putting my emotions on check. This just brought up a lot of sad memories for me so I put little attention to what they're talking about until I hear Road's roaring laughter.

The look on Devit's face turns dark. "That fucking bastard, Cross."

Cross?

_The General._

Right. It's hard to get used to but I listen to my brain when it tells me that this Cross fellow is a punk that was being a little dick to find. And not just for the Noah but from the team of Exorcists that was sent to look for him.

Road seems to have caught something interesting because a smile appears on her face when Jasdero tells him something. "Jasdevi, want to know something good…?"

* * *

"This is bullshit!?" I exclaim at the top of my lungs and thrash about just as Tyki closes the door.

"Stop shouting, would you?" he says with an irritated look as he picks at his ear mocking my volume.

"No!" I shout right back and stand before him despite the difference in height making me arch my neck upwards painfully. "Why the hell do I have to stay here!?"

_This is unfair as fuck!_

After Jasdevi left to confront the remaining Exorcists, Road told Tyki that they should start getting ready for their arrival at the tower. Tyki then took the liberty to take me back through a portal of Road's to the new Ark. The rooms were all the same from the old ones because Road had basically copied the version into the new vessel he said but it didn't take away the fact that he's taking me out of the field. I wanted to be there, dammit, to actually see if I could remember anything else!?

"Because once this starts I won't be able to concentrate if I have to look after you too." He walks up to the closet and begins to look through it for a change of clothes. He takes out a clean white shirt and the rest of the suit that seems to be clean now.

"But I have to be there!" I yell even louder and start pacing around the room. If he thought I was stubborn before he ain't seen shit yet. I will thrash and throw a tantrum if I have to.

_I need to be there._

"No, you don't." His voice is loud even though I have my back to him. "And I'm not taking you back. I'm not going to risk something happening to you."

"Screw me!"

"Gladly."

I groan at his pun and turn around ready to lip him off again but stop short at the sight before me. Without my knowledge, Tyki had actually begun undressing in the room clearly having no time to waste to go into a separate room or at least the bathroom. He had already taken of his shirt and had unbutton his pants when I turned.

_Oh God…_

His annoyed expression changes and becomes one of pure mischief. If I'm not ogling like a dumbass moronic tweeb then I have no idea why he has that smirk on his face. That just doesn't bode well for me. Like a sly panther, he starts making his way to me and I try my best to step back with each step he gives forward. I finally run out of space then and he traps me with both his bare arms lying to either side of me. "What's the matter?"

"N-Nothing," I say but I can feel the blood rushing to my face even then. And I know he can tell because he chuckles before bringing his face just above my ear.

"If you like what you see, you can go ahead and touch," he says in that low and guttural voice that sends shivers down my spine.

"No thank you."

The deep, throaty chuckle doesn't do me any good. "What are your hands doing then?" My eyes have to literally glance down to my hands to see that they have started to roam his chiseled chest. It's not overly tone nor bulgy; it's just perfect against the ash color of his skin. He takes the opportunity and nuzzles his face against my bare neck before he starts kissing his way around me. Now that my eyes know where my hands are unconsciously touching, I'm entranced and want to touch even more. My hands slowly crawl up and down his chest feeling every little nook and cranny under my fingertips. The palms of my hands and my fingers feel like they're burning again but it doesn't bother me. Every inch of his skin that touches mine just sends that burning sensation over me.

A groan escapes me when he starts nipping a little too hard on my skin. But even after hearing me he doesn't stop and keeps biting and licking at one spot diligently before pulling back to look at me. A playful smirk comes to his face when he sees me.

"Now that's something I love seeing," he says but I'm a little lost at the moment. The warm feeling has traveled all around my body and it soothes me like an embrace I've longed for. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me closer just as one of mine reach over his neck and pulls him close as well. We both have the same thought when our lips meet and it's just something I can't help but get myself lost in.

He plays with my bottom lip gently, wanting badly for me to let him in but I prolong it. It's when he gets tired that he puts one of his legs between mine and pushes me further against the wall and lifts me so that I'm straddling his leg. The action takes me so much by surprise that I gasp for air and that gives him the entrance he needs. And it's when he gets it that he starts becoming more aggressive and dominant. He likes doing that—just taking control. And I can honestly say that I like it. It's also fun toying around with him and fighting for that dominance which is exactly what I'm doing as our tongues dance around each other. The pungent musk of him invades me all the while and I can tell it's his solely. There's no clothes blocking me and all I savor under my touch, sight, smell, and taste is his own.

_And it's just making me fall harder._

We finally separate when neither of us can breathe no more. He hasn't touched any other part of me, his hands just resting on my hips to keep me from falling since he lifted me a few inches off the floor now that I'm on his leg. And because it's pressing so hard against me, I can feel how wet I am and how it began to even seep down the apex of my thighs. But that mere thought makes me think of even naughtier things.

_If he got me like this just by kissing me…God, what can he do with everything else?_

I knew how amazing it felt when he caressed my breasts and even had a little taste of his fingers playing with me once but those were mere teases. He wasn't being serious at all. And the only reason I can tell is because of how heavy just this was getting. Not knowing where to look, my eyes come up to his face and catch him staring right at me. He isn't boasting with a smirk or grin; all I see is a small smile as his golden eyes stare in awe at mine.

My arms come up around his neck at seeing this and I pull myself closer to him in an embrace. I let my head fall on the crook of his neck and let myself rest there. It's comforting and soothing as I notice the warmth from before having already spread all around my body. Tyki doesn't fall far behind and wraps his own around my lower back as he slowly lets me feel the ground again.

I don't know how long we stand there for but it feels like forever yet not long enough. At least that's what I'm thinking when he finally pulls away from me. "I need to go, my queen."

"Why?" The questions out before I can stop myself. But I don't dare say the rest.

_I want you to stay._ _With me…_

"If I don't Road will come looking for me and I won't hear the end of it from her. And neither will you," he says with a defeated sigh.

"Mm." I can't do anything but agree and slide my hands from around his neck slowly down his arms to feel them some more.

Once I'm standing on the ground and straight, he bends down slightly to let our foreheads meet. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid."

A sudden gut feeling hits me then. It's like the previous ones but much worse. I feel an ominous emotion in my body that tightens my chest and dries my throat out of fear.

_Something's going to happen._

It's like what I felt in Edo.

_And it's not going to be any good._

But he's asking me so earnestly that I just can't say no.

"I'll stay," I say not wanting to go against him when he sounds so concerned for me despite his wording. "But—" My interjection makes him pull back slightly as we look into each other's eyes. "You have to promise _me_ you'll be careful out there."

He scoffs at this. "You're worried about me?"

"Yes." The fact that I say that so seriously makes the humor fly from his face.

He sighs and then gives me a smile. "Don't worry, my queen. I'll come back to you."

"Please do," I say and lower my gaze. "I'm tired of seeing people leave to never come back."

Tyki lifts my head with his fingers and places a kiss on my lips before placing one on my head. "I won't. I promise I'll be back."

"And if not I'll drag your sorry ass back myself," I say and that makes him chuckle. A smile comes onto my own lips at that.

"I'm sure you will." He stands back from me and begins to get dressed. Once done he gives me a last smile before leaving me in the room.

I intend to take a shower right at this moment and so I take a change of clothes and go into the bathroom to entertain myself with filling the bathtub with hot water. Once it's full, I strip off everything and sink into the porcelain tub. Although my body still feels the warmness, it still soothes the aching. It wasn't just the cold water either that helps. It's just the feeling of the liquid going through my skin that helps me. So after cleaning myself a bit, I sit in the tub and sink down to get the water up to my neck before leaning my head back against the wall and the edge of the tub.

The water that sloshes back and forth lulls me a bit and I'm between awake and asleep. The sound of water sloshing slowly starts becoming drops that are hitting against the window of my room. Jaden's with me but he's much younger than I remember, as am I. I'm barely eleven, a year after they rescued me.

My memory's fuzzy. I don't like remembering the few years after they brought me home. The therapy I was put through, the medicine they gave me, the glares and stares from the people in court. I don't like remembering that time.

But this seems like something I remember if slightly. Jaden's in my room, the one that I would share with Kat a few months or so after. But this was when Mother was barely pregnant and when my court appearances where the most constant.

" _Here, this is the story I wanted to read with you."_

Jaden clicks a few things in the computer that sits in the desk and starts scrolling down. It struck me as odd. I remember reading picture books with Papa but those were short. And the ones that Jaden was showing me where very detailed and had a lot of writing everywhere.

" _What is this?"_

" _A story, like a book but it's written and drawn together. Kind of like a movie."_

There were no more questions from me as we continue on reading. Jade narrates the story making the voices and even sound effects. I remember hearing my laughter, my cries, and my shocked awe while reading it. It just intrigued me, a world that reminded me so much of what mine used to be but that never saw the characters as bad for doing what they must.

" _It's interesting, right?"_

" _Yeah!"_ I said very much invested in the story. It was just so far off and magical that it completely sucked me out of my own. It let me forget if momentarily about what I was going through. _"Wouldn't it be cool? To live in a world like that where demons exists?"_

" _Would it, really?"_

" _Wouldn't it though?"_ I ask again even more enthusiastically. _"I could beat them up the same as those people. I could be one of those people—those saviors, the exorcists!"_

A deep breath has me choking suddenly and I awake abruptly from my slight slumber. I start coughing uncontrollably and rise from my seat on the tub.

_Shit. That was a bad idea._

But not entirely. Gagging and coughing a few more times to get the water out of my nose and throat, I climb out of the bathtub and start drying myself off. I'm surprised that I remembered all that from just dozing off in the tub.

But I remember something about that though. But it's fuzzy still. There was just so much going on that perhaps I tried my best to forget it. I might have forgotten where I heard about this world then too. The medicines, the pressure in court, the new family; way too much for a little kid to take in.

_I just shoved it under the rug._

But now that I'm seeing it again, it's rattling my brain hard. That scene with Jaden is vague but I recall what I said. Exorcists. Demons. That must be it. This world _does_ exist from where I come from. And if I can remember more of it maybe I can finally get the grasp on this foreteller business.

I'm almost done changing when a loud ruckus from the room on the other side of the door makes me jump in my skin. It's like a bear just came in through the door and pushed everything aside. It isn't a continuous thing. It just came with a loud _crack_ and _thuds_ before all became silent again. Not caring about my half-buttoned skirt and blouse, I run out of the bathroom and am stunned at what I see.

Jasdero and Devit are both lying haphazardly on the floor of the room, breathing very heavily. Both of them are holding their left arms tightly.

"Jasdero? Devit?" I mumble quietly and it's only Devit who answers me.

His voice is quiet and hoarse. "Sis…ta." But at that he cringes in pain and holds his arm tighter. Jasdero begins screaming too in pain and holds his arm as well. Damn. They're hurt. Before I can even examine them, I do my best and pick them up to lift them onto the large bed in the room. It's hard but I manage to put Jasdero on the far left and Devit on the far right. I come around to Devit and I'm about to check his arm when he suddenly stops me. He also scares the crap out of me when his hand lets go of his arm and holds my wrist painfully tight.

I cringe but face him and see the perspiration falling around his face from the pain exertion. He takes a couple of deep, ragged breaths before speaking. "Jasdero…Help him." He lets go immediately when another wave of pain comes across and makes him hold his arm again. Not wanting for neither of them to suffer any more, I quickly run over to Jasdero's side and turn him over as carefully as I can on his stomach so that his injured arm is facing my way.

I can't help cringe at the sight of the injury. His whole arm from fingertips to shoulder is churned up as if burned but holds a very grayish tone to it. The veins are popping out so vividly that I can feel them pumping blood slowly as I run the pads of my fingers over it. He calls me between heavy breathing and winces when I touch the arm too much. He's in pain, both of them are. But I don't know what they have. I've never seen this type of injuries or burns anywhere before, real life or books.

I can't treat them.

_Yes, you can._

When I hear that in my head, a sudden warmness comes to the palms of my hands. It quickly turns into a festering burning feeling, like I'm holding rocks that have been sitting too long in the sidewalk during a hot summer's day. By accident, my fingers brush against Jasdero's arm and we both yelp in pain. Me because the burning just got that much hotter, and him because of the sudden cut that opened in his arm that's letting a tiny line of blood pour out.

I'm about to start tending to it when I notice something odd about it. Although the overall color is red my eyes catch the glint of green when the gaslights hit it a certain way. Almost like watching light through a green prism. Instead the prism is dark crimson.

_It's in their blood._

That thought comes onto me like an epiphany and is followed by a couple of others. It's not their blood but what is inside it that's causing them pain. It's infected them and it hurts them because it's like venom.

_Innocence._

That's the only plausible explanation my brain can come up with despite how illogical it sounds to me. They have Innocence particles in their blood. If I can get it out…but how?

My eyes come to my hands that haven't stopped burning. If just now I managed to get it out, doesn't matter how unrealistic the cut was made, I can do it again. I can't just bleed them out though.

_Sway it out._

My mind has no idea what it's talking about but my body apparently does. Without me telling them to, my hands start doing something else on their own. They're phantom limbs again. Just like when I played the piano. With my left I grab Jasdero's wrist and feel the burning sensation increase and although I feel like yelling out like he does, I have to do this.

"Please bear with me," I whisper and with my right hand, I move towards his shoulder. My fingers feel through his veins over the skin and start to slowly move down. It's little by little that my fingers move down his prominent veins. And every few seconds I feel something—a miniscule _something_ —clinging to the pads of my fingers through his skin. It feels like tiny magnets that are attracted to my fingertips. Once caught they seem to move along the path my fingers take. I slowly take them along his arm, and all others I could catch, and guide them until I reach the tips of his fingers.

He hasn't stopped whimpering all the way. But when my fingers reach the tips of his something else happens. Like the blood that had trickled down the cut in his arm before, the tiny pieces of _magnets_ open a wound underneath his nails that lets blood seep out. And the blood that comes out is a mixture again—his blood and then the tiny glints of green shards like splinters that have stuck to it. When it finally has an exit wound to come out of, Jasdero's whimpering quiets down immensely. I run my hands a couple more times over his arm to get any of the splinters of Innocence I didn't catch the first time and run them down to his fingers for them to leak out of. By the end of the third run I think that I've cleaned him as much as I can.

My fingers run along his again to clean the blood from his hand. I'm about to go get some bandages to cover the wounds but stop myself.

_It's bleeding less._

My eyes are wide and my mind is on the verge of tipping over the edge but I take a deep breath and check the wounds again. Like I thought, they're not as open anymore. I run my fingers through them again to clean the blood away for better sight but when I look this time they're even more healed.

_It couldn't be…_

This time I don't just swipe my fingers across his but instead let the tips of mine linger just to the side of the cuts. This time I can see it as clear as day as the cuts start to close. It's almost like watching a knitted sweater being ripped through one thread but in reverse. The skin is sewing and attaching itself back together until all the cuts in his hand are gone.

Jasdero gives one last whimper before he sighs and starts breathing evenly. With that I let his arm rest beside him and he finally seems to fall asleep. Good he needs the rest.

Not trying to think about what I just did, I run over to Devit who's still groaning in pain. Knowing it would work, I do the same thing I did with Jasdero. Devit screams just as bad from the pain I cause when I'm pulling the shards from his blood and through the pads of his fingers instead. It takes about four sweeps but I get most of it out and finally focus on closing the cuts on his fingers.

And just like before when I put my fingers on his the cuts begin to close until they're gone. Pulling back, I wipe my brow with my forearm seeing as my hands are all dirty with blood. Devit turns slightly my way and watches me from under half-hooded eyes. His breathing has normalized and he's in less pain by the sound of it. He doesn't smile or anything but he does say, "Thank you, sista," before fainting. I'm not worried for both seem to be exhausted from whatever fight they were on.

The burning sensation in my palms dies out quickly after I'm done but then concentrates on my own fingers. It's like I'm touching a hot stove for a second too long and I hold my hands in each other. The feeling lasts for a few seconds and once it's gone I take a gander at my own fingers and can't believe what I'm seeing.

Cuts start forming underneath my nails and on the pads of my fingers. It's like seams opening on my hands and they burn like any fresh cut would. But it fucks with my brain to see that they just sprout out of my hands and that they're in the same places where the twins had theirs.

There's definitely something wrong with me. I can't really know what though. Something else starts bugging me as I clean myself off and finish dressing after my shower. Bringing a chair over to the right side of the bed, I come up close and sit there while brushing my clean but cut fingers through their heads soothingly. They fell deep asleep after my treatment; I won't really know how effective was what I did until they wake up.

There's no time for me to worry about what I just _did_ because a terrible thought comes to my mind. If Jasdevi were this injured after fighting those exorcists then Tyki is in trouble too. He's strong, maybe stronger than the twins, but I can't stop worrying. The exorcists have already done in Skin and hurt Jasdevi pretty badly. I don't want to see anybody else hurt.

" _Want some help?"_

The air shifts and I can feel a heaviness around me when I hear that voice ring in my head. "What are you talking about this time?" The venomous tinge in my voice is something even I hear but I don't intend to hide it. Neither of the twins are awake so they won't think me crazy if I talk to the air at someone who no one seems to hear but me.

" _A way back into the Ark. The one they are all in right now, anyway. Interested?"_

I am but I can't leave the twins here by themselves. They might not be out of the woods just yet.

" _They'll be fine. Aren't you more worried about your boy toy?"_

"Don't call him that."

" _Touchy much?"_

"I won't have you insulting any of them." The hold I have on Devit and Jasdero's intertwined hands becomes tighter at that thought.

" _Thought you hated them. If I'm not mistaken you called them freaks not so long ago."_

Maybe so but I've started seeing a complete other side to each of them, even the ones that seem like nothing but hard asses like the Earl and Road. They are Noah but I forget the one thing that we all—the Noah, the Exorcists, and I—still have in common, we're only human.

" _Is that so?"_ I don't have to say it out loud for him to listen to my thoughts. _"If that's what you think then do you want to go meet him? Both of them have already started their fights with the exorcists."_

A sinking feeling punches my gut again and it makes me gulp down the anxiety that was forming in my throat. I'm worried and I want to go.

" _They will be fine. So long as they are together Bonds will be fine."_

It's everything but reassuring. But still…

"Can you take me there?"

" _All you ever needed to do is ask."_

"Why do you always do this? Help me." Although sometimes he didn't seem that helpful.

" _You'll get to know my reason when the time comes. Just know that it's in both our best interests if we help one another."_

"I'll get to repay all the _favors_ you gave me then? Fantastic. Can't wait to punch you in the gut for some things," I say, grudgingly.

" _And I'll be able to repay mine to you for the things you've done to move this story along, foreteller. But for now you must tread on and continue writing where you left off."_ From behind me, I see the rims of the door that lead out of the room begin to shine silver until they dim. Just like they did that last time. _"Try making it quick, though. There's less than an hour before that Ark collapses."_

I turn briefly to look at Jasdevi and notice them huddling closer to each other. Twins are the closet kind of siblings, they'll be all right with each other. A deep breath comes through my lungs before I let go of their hands. Caringly, I bend down lightly to plant a kiss on both their heads before I put my butterfly knife in my skirt and head for the door. _"And if you still have any doubts about why I'm doing this…well, once you meet_ Allen _you might get a grasp of things again."_ There's little time for me to think about his psychobabble before I burst through the door and run into a series of staircases that go up every which way.

Not having time to waste, I take a deep breath and start running up the stairs two at a time. It takes a few minutes but I finally see a double door at the end of the case and can finally take a normal breath when I reach it. But when I do, it won't budge. The more I push, the more I hear the rattling of metal chains clanking against each other.

_It's lock on the other side._

"Damn. It," I groan trying to push it open and finally decide to start kicking at it. But no matter what I do it still won't budge. Tired of this shit, I hold the handle once more and push it forward with all my might. This time, thankfully, it budges and the doors open but they open way too wide and hard for it to have been me who forced them apart.

That something is so strong that it lifts me quickly off my feet the moment the doors open but luckily I'm holding tightly enough to the handle of the door to not be sucked in. My eyes shut tightly when I feel my body being lifted feet above the ground and wanting to go away like a leaf in the breeze. Whatever's sucking me starts to move away from me and I hear a loud ruckus of destruction. Just like walls being plummeted to the ground. I pull myself closer to the door that's flinging back and forth and finally get my feet back on the ground.

Once I'm capable of doing that I can see what was sucking me away so hard. My eyes widen when I spot the dark sphere that's all the way on the other side of a tower. It's destroyed everything in its wake with the rapid gust of wind that keeps the black sphere compacted.

My eyes wonder about the place even when my breathing's turned a bit frantic from the anxiety of that black hole. What I find is Road floating above in the air on Lero, a cube with the exorcist girl from before and another man, and in a separate rectangle is the redhead of the hammer.

_Lenalee Lee. Lavi Bookman Jr._

Those are their names. Again, the memory's murky but I remember their names now. And there's something else too that I remember. A fight. A horrible, _horrible_ thing happens during this fight. A white clown and a decked-out man.

_Tyki Mikk._

In that black hole, I know they're in there. The clown and Tyki. A deep pain in my gut hits me then and another makes the static noise in my head start once again. It's not as excruciating as before; I can think, but it's begging me to do something. It's pleading for me to act because of what my mind's unconsciously telling me through my body.

Something disastrous is going to happen.

_Protect them._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used is Ventus' Theme and the lyrics are by Lizz.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Eighteen** _

**Unraveled**

* * *

"Road!"

But there's no response. The air whips around me, smacking against my whole body like heavy sheets. The sound it makes is so loud that I can't even hear my own thoughts.

_That's not what's impeding me from hearing them._

No, it's this annoying ass static that's playing in my head. It hurts; my body pains me, too. My hands are on fire. But all that I ignore and take another deep breath.

" **Road!"**

This time she does turn my way at hearing her name called. Her expression goes from fully concentrated to shock at seeing me there. She comes up from her sit on Lero to stand on him. They're not far but I can't hear whatever she says beyond the noise of the wind.

_Protect them._

Damn. Without thinking, I let go of the handle of the door and grab the side of my head fast. From among the loud static I hear a rampant loud voice yelling this time. It's desperate.

_Protect them. Protect them. Protect them!_

"Shut the fuck up, already! _"_ It's hard to think with them yelling so much in my head.

It's incessant and annoying. They're basically pleading me to do something _—anything!—_ but, really, what can I do? This—I can't help but look up and watch the black hole that's still hovering just outside the tower—it's just too much for me.

I'm just a human, dammit.

_No, you're not._

"What…?"

But I didn't even hear my own whisper when a sudden explosion rings in my ears. It's the loudest thing I've ever heard and it leaves a momentary buzzing sound in my ears. It does nothing to muffle the static in my head, though. Just as the explosion busts my ears, it also pushes my body hard with its magnitude for a few seconds before the sudden pull on my body disappears. It's like somebody just tied an anchor to my feet, at least the pull that it immediately had on me felt like so. One second I'm trying to stay on the ground and the next I have to let go of the door from how hard I'm pulled down by gravity.

A groan escapes me as I reach up to my chin that I've just hit. Lifting myself up again I notice that the buzzing's gone and I can see what's happening now. The sphere's gone. Not only that but Tyki's out, slouching and from how his body keeps bobbing up and down I can tell he's exhausted.

"What's happening, Tyki?" Road asks blatantly. There's no way I can hear what Tyki's saying but I do see where his sight goes. It's on the cloud of dust that's still floating about at the destroyed end of the tower.

My eyes go to it and when the cloud dissipates and I see who hides behind it, I can't help but tremble. What is…this fear I feel? The one I see there is the boy from before—the clown, Allen. His left arm's missing and in his right he's holding a really large sword. White with black coloring.

_Huh?_

That sword…I've seen it before. That sword belongs to—

"Did I just wake up—" Tyki's voice finally reaches me when the noise settles. Not only on the outside but also in my mind. It's quiet. It's disturbing. "Something not good at all?"

Unconsciously, I feel my hands reach for my arms in an attempt to comfort myself. This fear is crawling all over me like a thousand ants that I can't pick off. It's even settling in me. My stomach's turned over and I feel the sweat running down my neck and moistening my palms.

This boy…he scares me.

Out of the blue he brandishes the sword out as the white cloak begins to armor his arm. "I'll show you," he said with a determined glare, "that I can protect them."

With the new threat, Tyki stands tall and summons a Tease onto his arm while smirking. "Why are you—" I can barely hear his voice when the boy's sword clashes against the makeshift shield of dark matter. I thank God that it's at least holding steady. "So stubborn?"

"Even you guys should know why!" Allen calls and thrusts his sword further.

And through.

I hear the screeching break of the shield— _or am I screaming?_ —like shattering glass, before I see the sword slash through it and right across Tyki's arms and torso. It happens fast but Tyki doesn't fall back after what I'm sure should've been a deadly wound.

Instead he just staggers back a few steps and stares shocked at nothing but grasps at his chest desperately. But even from where I am, I can see that he didn't cut anything. But that's not possible. The goddamn blade went right through him!?

"What kind of trick did you pull, boy?" Tyki asks, faintly out of breath but noticeably in pain.

"It wasn't a trick," he replies.

As if on command, white crosses appear and spread out to mark the wound that he had caused. He coughs and a line of blood stains his face. Tyki then begins groaning loudly and grabs his face and head, "The Noah…inside of me—" He falls harshly onto his knees and without a warning lets out a blood curling scream. It seems to go on for minutes. My hands reach my ears out of pure pain from hearing him scream like that and cover them. My eyes start to sting and for the first time since I was ten I feel something crawling at my back. This horrible feeling of utter helplessness.

"To destroy the evil within a person," he says without blinking an eye at what he's done. "That is mine and Crown Clown's power."

Finally he stops screaming. A weak chuckle escapes him. What's wrong with him? Doesn't he realize how grave this is?!

_Crown Clown, the Sword of Exorcism. It doesn't kill humans, it only exorcises the inner evil—what it deems "the enemy of God."_

That is what Crown Clown does.

And despite knowing that something else also tells me that Tyki's Noah hasn't disappeared yet. It's still there. But he won't stop at just hurting him. He wants to eliminate Tyki's Noah. And he's going to do it, I notice, as he slowly shortens the distances between them.

_Wouldn't that be for the best?_

No, it wouldn't. I don't care if the Noah in him is what makes him a murderer. I don't care if it's because of the Noah that he's separated from the others. Even the fact that every time I look at him or his family embracing their inner selves is like looking in a mirror ten years ago, it's still not right!?

It's a part of him. It's a part of what makes him Tyki. And if he lost it, it wouldn't be the same. _He_ wouldn't be the same.

I don't want that to happen.

_Protect them._

I will.

There's nothing stopping me this time. The tower is so quiet that I even hear the few steps that take me to where I want to be: right in between Tyki and that sword. There's an absorbing silence as what I assume to be shock settles in. Tyki's the first one to break it to my surprise.

"Rei…na?" It's hard but I ignore him calling my name. Right now the bigger issue is keeping him whole.

"You're—" at hearing his voice, I turn up to the boy and my eyes are deadlocked on his. Again I see a mercurial silver. A galaxy that swims in his eyes that is filled with determination despite having slightly lost his glare. "The girl…in China, you helped me." A sudden thought, a memory maybe from that night, comes to him and makes him glare at me and raise his voice. "Why? Why are you protecting him, a Noah who hurt you?"

"If you remember that I helped you then understand that I'm doing this with the same intentions as back then." My voice was quiet but steady despite the burning in my eyes and the pit in my stomach. My body moved up a step to cover Tyki better and I took a stronger stance. "I don't want to see anybody else get hurt."

"But you're a human." He sounded genuinely confused at my reasoning. "Do you not know the horrible things that the Noah and the Millennium Earl have done?!"

His loud voice made me flinch a little but I didn't falter. If only he knew… I've experienced their abuse for so long now that I've grown to expect it.

And yet—

"I do," I reply. "But that doesn't mean I see any right in what you're doing either." A strong emotion courses through me, determined to declare everything I'm feeling. My life be damned. "Because if you kill the Noah inside of him, then that's no different than taking away a part of his life! You're killing a part of him!"

He stares dumbfounded at me for a second or so before he shakes his head. "Regardless of what you might think, I cannot allow them to continue going rampant. Too many lives have been lost already and I won't let anymore go in vain."

"Then know something!" This time it's me who's raising their voice. I'm tired of people thinking they're doing the right thing. Of people killing each other off for war. I'm sick and tired of it.

_No more._

"If you go through with this then you're no different than they are!" I yell at his face. "Violence for any cause may seem right but that's only temporary, the damage it causes isn't. Fighting violence with violence is a war of the foolish. And I won't have any more deaths because of fools no matter the side or conflict. I'm done with that."

He raises his sword right onto me, the tip of the blade a few inches away from my chest. "Then I am truly sorry, but I won't let you interfere."

"Then do what you must," I say, spreading my arms to give him a straight and clean target. "Because that's exactly what I will do."

But all the vigor runs out of me when a large hand lands on the left side of my hips. The sudden push it gives catches me so off guard that when I land on my side several feet away from them, the air is slightly knocked out of me. When I turn to look at him, both Tyki and the boy are looking at me. He has a shocked look on his face while Tyki only wears a smirk as his arm comes to rest at his side.

"I won't have a lil' queen protecting me." When Road sees this, it seems she snaps out of the stupor I just got. She jumps from where she is with Lero and gives a few steps in his direction but Tyki raises his other hand to keep her away too and for some reason Road complies. "It's all right."

The boy takes the few steps separating and raises his sword. "Retreat from this war, Tyki Mikk!" With that finality, he plunges the sword into Tyki's chest and something in me just stops. The stigmata appears on his forehead, bulging out like a recent wound. Tyki grabs his face weakly in his large hand and whispers something to him.

It's hard to distinguish but I do hear him say Road's name…and my own. Allen then draws his sword back to let Tyki's unconscious body fall on the cold floor.

_Protect them._

This time when I hear it, it's weaker, like it has lost hope. Tyki's face is turned my way and is perfectly in my line of sight.

_Save them._

This allows me to see the marks on his forehead as they disappear and his skin recedes to its original tone. At seeing this a sinking feeling drops into my stomach. The sting in my eyes is finally eased but now I feel tears as they fall down my cheeks. My throat is dry and my chest hurts.

No, not my chest.

_It's my heart._

**You can't**.

" **Tyki!"**

There's no helping the scream that comes out of me as I pick myself up from where I am and run to his side. The first thing I do after I drop to my knees by him is check for any injuries despite knowing that there won't be any. The only ones I see are the ones that Allen left from his Sword of Exorcism. His heartbeat's slowing down. His breathing is ragged and low but it's there. He's alive.

_But not really._

A silence had settle in the room after my shout. One could probably drop a pin and I'd hear it. But that somber silence is broken by what hits me in the gut worse: a cheer.

"He did it!" It's the other guy. The one that's with Lenalee. "The devil—he defeated him!"

A sinking feeling starts at my stomach at hearing his words and I almost want to punch him for what he's saying. But it seems something else beats me to it. My ears go from hearing his jubilant cries to hearing something whistle in the air that plunges deep into flesh. A groan follows with Lenalee's screams of concern.

"Don't move." Although I know it's not meant for me, I still remain immobile and on my knees when Road orders it. Her voice is deadly and serious. "If you move, I'll pierce through you all."

My head instantly turns up to see that all around Allen and the cube there are candles floating in midair. Road says something else but I ignore it and simply sit staring at her. She's livid. Despite the fact that her face is expressionless, there's something definitely boiling below the surface.

"You know," she says, walking closer to Tyki's other side and bending down to see his face. "Though I like Allen, my family is also very precious to me." She takes a sit beside him and takes him in her arms, stroking his head like a loving sister. "This kind of feeling is the same as yours."

My eyes move from Road to Allen when I hear something shift on the floor. "Don't move. I am not quite myself at the moment. Do you really want to see holes in the bodies of your companions? But that alone won't be enough. One of your companions has to pay for this."

She goes on to explain how she's planning to break Lavi's heart. That's right. The redhead's playing her games still much like I did that one time. Fighting against his demons. My teeth grind against each other from how bad I have to hold my tongue back. I get that she's angry but this won't accomplish anything either. Road threatens Allen with harming Lenalee and the one other if he tries anything. That only serves to put everybody, myself included, more on edge. "Just wait patiently for me to destroy Lavi!"

"Stop this already, Road!" I scream without thinking and she turns a disgruntled frown at me.

"Stop?" she asks, incredulous.

"What will this do!?" I ask her, trying to get through to her. "You can hurt them all but it won't bring Tyki back. Hurting them won't serve a purpose!"

"I don't care," she replies with a grin and she sticks her tongue out.

A whistling in the air is all I hear before it happens. The scream is out of me in an instant and goes away just as fast. My eyes trail down my right leg and register the object that's causing me so much pain. It's a candle that's sticking right into the back of my thigh. I feel the warmth of my blood as it starts pooling beneath my legs.

"They've hurt my family," she continues as a mild wooziness starts invading my head. "I'm only repaying the favor." She finally looks away from Allen and the others and focuses her attention to me. "Out of all, I thought you would understand best. Wouldn't you do anything to find the ones that killed your father, Nicolas, or make the ones who killed Cherise pay?" Those words struck me and keep me from completely losing consciousness. "Would you do nothing if someone had harmed your precious Kathleen?!"

"I wouldn't." My breathing starts getting labored but I don't let the pain deter me. My hand grabs Tyki's tightly despite it all as if wanting to find strength in him to convince Road. "Because I know that would only disappoint them. I'd be forcing myself to be someone I'm not; do things that I would never do."

The next thought makes my head go in a frenzy again. My free hand comes up to the candle at my leg. Even touching it sends bouts of pain through my whole body and make my breathing labored even more. But I'm not stopping now.

_Just do it, Reina._

My fingers wrap around the hot candle before I can regret it and I pull it out as fast as I can. I groan and scream from the pain that shoots out. Despite just having left the wound open, I can feel the blood not gushing out from it. It's stopped. My other hand's warm.

At looking at it, there's the faintest greenish glow where my skin's touching Tyki's. I snatch my hand away and regret doing it immediately. The pain's back three times what it was but at least the bleeding's stopped.

_Damn, I heal of off people too?_

But I don't let that faze me for too long because I still had a child to deal with. I turn to Road and she doesn't seem to have noticed what happened with my wound since it's out of her sight. Instead what she gets is more scolding. "Even if you manage anything, this will only leave us all exhausted for what we've lost."

"We?!" Her shout catches me off guard as do all the candles that hover all around the cube, the wax gone to reveal the sharpened metal ends.

"Road, don't!" Allen's shouts reach me but I ignore them in favor of putting attention to Road's expression.

It's manic. She's angry because of what I just said. "You're not the one who's lost something here, I am! You are nothing but a glorified pet. You are nothing! You have no right to say anything!"

Instead of yelling at her this time, I opt for using a stern but calm voice. "Maybe I don't but that's all the more reason to want the killing to stop. Road, think about it. If this continues soon we will have nothing left but battered souls and defeated bodies."

The frown on her face doesn't waver until a small grin breaks it. "You're wrong," she retorts. "Those who're strong of heart will live only to see the Three Days of Darkness." There's a click somewhere and I look upward to see as the rectangle holding Lavi opens to let him land. "And the first to go will be the exorcists." With a grin on her face, she tells Allen that Lavi's heart has broken and that if he wants to save Lenalee and the human then he will have to kill 'that'.

There's little I get until Lavi starts fighting against Allen. The boy is reluctant to do anything and it's easy to tell as they fight among themselves. Road is making this practically impossible for him. Even I know that he won't kill a friend. What she's asking for is simply impossible. It isn't hard to see that all—Noah or Exorcists—would hesitate at the thought of killing one of their own or someone who cared for them.

_The same way that I hesitated with Cherise._

Their fighting continues and it hurts even me. The groans and pained shouts from Allen as his friend attacks him are painful to listen to. I even have to cover my ears when I hear Lenalee's desperate shriek. She wants them to stop fighting each other. _I_ want them to stop fighting each other. But Road won't have any of it.

She boasts at what she knows, that Bookman are nothing but recorders of history and that they hold no relations to any whom they meet. To him they are not comrades, simply stepping stones to record history.

They're not their friends. He doesn't belong with them.

_Just like I don't belong with my family._

No, stop it. My head shakes vigorously and I shut my eyes close while holding my ears even tighter. Not now, please. I don't want to recall terrible things now. I've had enough as it is. I'm torn apart and ready to crumble.

_Please, no more._

The sudden burst of sound makes me look up to watch the great snake of fire that rises from Lavi's hammer. His Innocence's power goes toward Allen but he cuts it down in half with his sword. Unfortunately it doesn't deviate the attack and instead creates two snakes. They clash against each other and Lavi uses it once more to electrocute Allen who falls down.

_Please. Stop this._

"No more, Road," I say crying. They're so young with so much to look forward too. Why are children trying to wage wars that they should have no part of?

_Like you did?_

What I did…was different. It must be. That night—the night of the accident—I wanted to follow in their footsteps, Ger and Seb's. That was what I wanted more than anything, to be trained in the medical field and serve the country. I wanted to.

But these kids…they have no choice. They shouldn't have to fight against monsters—against each other when they could be careless children living their lives as friends. Living a carefree life.

_Fate is fickle, Reina. Even if they had not joined this war, they would surely have been part of another. Life is nothing but struggle and sacrifice. And people like you who wish to protect and do no harm are the naive ones._

No.

Lero's sudden screech of panic makes me snap out of my stupor just in time to see Road fall back with the sword of exorcism piercing right through her body. And despite the fact that I know I should be scared that Road will lose her Noah too, I'm not.

And I know why.

 _It's not really_ her _._

She pulls it out of her body and stabs it onto the floor just as Lavi summons his Fire Seal. "No matter what you do Allen, there is nothing you can do to save his heart. Give it up already!"

Lavi's snake swallows Allen this time and I hear Lenalee's voice come through as the snake passes right by the cube. There's a pause though and I suddenly remember why.

_Lavi's heart…it isn't dead._

At knowing that, my eyes turn to look at him as he turns his hammer about for the mallet to face the ground. He yells out his command and summons a giant snake, even bigger than before, as it eats him whole. That snake though doesn't just go up in the sky and vanish, it goes around and heads straight for us.

No, not us. It's going for Road.

Rather than get burnt, I do my best to step aside but before I can even do that Road pushes Tyki's unconscious body to me seconds before the snake engulfs her whole. I hear her tell Lero to take care of Tyki's body despite having thrown it to me. But I don't wish to complain and simply hold Tyki closer to me and let his head rest upon my shoulder. His body is huge so my hands don't wrap around his arms completely. I end up holding him by his shoulder and by the side of his chest.

My eyes come to a spot of white as it flies across the room seconds after a shout I can't recognize reverberates. It pierces to the inside of the snake, a light blinds it all, and after coursing through the half destroyed tower the snake solidifies.

There's nothing but silence for a few minutes. That changes when a loud cracking coming from above takes me off guard and actually scares me, making me jump in my skin. What's even more disturbing is Road's body that falls from the cracked snake all charred from the flames. All her skin is basically blackened and I can even see the skull under it. It's repulsive.

The fear only makes me clutch onto Tyki tighter. I don't know why but feeling him near me just feels reassuring even though he's not conscious. A few seconds later, the cube holding Lenalee and the human comes down and opens, letting the two free. Shortly after it's the ruckus of one of the snakes breaking that takes my attention. Allen and Lavi emerge from there and although they're not unscathed, they are alive.

_That's a relief._

But the relief quickly flees when the screeching laughter from Road's burnt corpse starts echoing all around the tower. It's maniacal and it just sends chills through my bones. Her head turns to them with some trouble but I clearly hear her raspy voice calling out Allen's name just before she bursts into dust.

My eyes are wide from what I just saw. There's no way Road's dead. She's the Noah of Dreams. Her form…nobody knows it. She must be gone. My eyes turn to Lero who's crying like a little baby asking for the Earl's help.

My head turns to glance down at Tyki's who's still resting in my arms. An earthquake hits and makes my grip tighten. It's only now at doing this that I feel a warmth in my body that's spreading. It's pooling in my hands and I can even feel it coursing into Tyki's and also feel it as it comes back around to me. A chain; whatever's in me is going through both of us and it's sharing our strengths.

As if to confirm my suspicions, my eyes glance over to the injury on my right leg and see the faint glow that's coming over it. The tissue that had been pierced through is starting to knit back together. First muscle then skin. What's left in its stead is a pinkish circle that clashes against the tan color of the rest of my leg. But at the same time, I feel something in my chest that's making it hard to breath. It tightens my chest and it almost feels like something's holding my heart in a tight grip. Then I notice that Tyki's breathe went from labored to calm and although the white crosses on his body didn't disappear, the cuts he got from fighting are gone.

 _Whatever's healing me isn't just taking from him to do so. It's taking from me to heal_ him _._

Almost like an exchange. Physical wounds are the ones he can sustain. I'm not a Noah, so whatever's causing it to die won't affect me but I can still feel the pain his body is feeling.

There's no reason for me to but something tells me to look up. At heeding it, I instantly lock eyes with Allen. He stares at us and although I can't hear much beyond Lero's annoying weeping, I can see something in his eyes. He wants to help. But even if I see that there's no way that he would. He just tried killing Tyki a few minutes ago for goodness sake. He won't come to help us get out of this crumbling ark.

_He will._

Shut up, brain. You're not always right. But watching as they climb onto the top floor with that hammer of Lavi's forces me to make up my mind. If they're going to do what most they can to escape then so will I.

_I didn't just save Tyki and risk myself to die now._

"Earl-tama! Help us, Earl-tama!"

"Shut up, Lero, and let's go." The pumpkin turns to me with tears and snot coming from it—how?—but a frown quickly forms on it.

"Don tell Lero to shut up! And Lero won't be following you anywhere, you mutt!"

"Then stay here for all I care." I squat with my good leg and put Tyki's arm over my shoulders. It's hard and I have to use the solidified snake to balance myself to a stand while carrying Tyki's unconscious body on me.

_He seriously needs to lose weight._

But right now what matters is that we get closer to that hammer. If my brain thinks he'll help then it won't hurt to try. It's the best I can do for now. Even if it is though, I can't help stop when I finally put weight on my right leg. A yelp escapes me and my legs almost buckle but I stand still for a few seconds. Letting the pain pass, I ignore it the best I can and continue for a few more steps.

We're almost half way to it when I can't take the pain anymore. My knees buckle under both the pain and the extra weight. I fall unceremoniously forth and Tyki's body rolls to the side of me. Tears spring from my eyes from the throbbing pain on my leg that mounted after walking for such a distance. Biting my lip and even tasting blood, I force myself to lift my body up with my arms.

_I'm not quitting now. I want to live. I want Tyki to live. We're going back. Together._

With that pushing my gears, I sit up again and reach out to feel where Tyki fell but to my surprise there's nothing there. My head whips that way and again, there's no one there. Tyki's body is gone.

I don't get it. But there's no time for me to question anything when a sick feeling in my gut takes my attention. And I know this feeling too well: fear. Something's wrong. Knowing where it came from, I turn but can't see much when something black swoops a few feet in front of me and aims upward. It hits the roof and I hear whatever attacked destroy part of the next floor.

Trying to safeguard my head, I crouch down and hold my arms over it. But whatever it catches up there, it brings down with a grand hit that makes a giant dust cloud form. I'm coughing because of it and I can't very well see anything beyond the cloud. But something behind me does catch me by surprise when I hear it. I turn just in time to get hit in the stomach by something that lifts me off my feet like nothing and throws me across the room towards the cloud.

The wind whips right past me and the pain from the hit is settling in when I crash into something. Whatever I did crash into though isn't hard like marble or floor, it's soft and warm. And it catches me before I hit anything harmful. The sudden stop from such a speed, though, does its own damage. Because of it, I'm hacking again but a hand clutches my own that reached up to my throat.

"Are you okay?"

The voice is muffled in my ears but I can hear it. My sight is dark for a second before it clears. My head turns up to where I heard the voice and my eyes catch the sight of silver.

"A-Allen?" my voice is hoarse at calling his name. He nods but something else catches his attention and makes him turn up. At this, I stumble a bit from his protective hold—one that I hadn't notice was enforced by Crown Clown's armor-like cloak—and look over to what he's watching.

At seeing it, though, my eyes grow wide and a new fear sets in again. Tyki's standing some way from us and the things that had attacked me had been tentacles that now whip around him. "Miss…is that really Tyki Mikk?"

"It's not." There's no doubt in my mind about it. "Whatever _that_ thing is, it's not Tyki."

The bad feeling sinks even deeper in me. This feeling of knowing something bad is going to happen. I don't know what it is but I think Allen has the same feeling. With his left hand he pushes me behind himself.

"Please, stay behind me," he whispers and I oblige. He takes his right hand to his left arm to take the sword once again. But even I can see the hesitance in him. He asks what's happening, something I want to know as well but there's no answer.

Instead the tentacles spread out from his body just as he lets out a blood curling scream. He's in pain but we can't help him. The appendages then start wrapping around his whole body just as a black haze begins to engulf him. The sudden blow of the haze almost pushes me back and it would've had it not been for Allen who put his one arm around my shoulders to keep me with him. We watch in horror at what's happening to Tyki and see it through. The haze then piles up against Tyki to form what seemed to be a whirlwind before it bursts out shaking the whole room and leaving us momentarily unable to see what's going on.

Once it dissipates, Allen and I stand aghast at what Tyki's become. But he doesn't stay for long. He says something under his breath—stay back, I think I hear him say—before he launches to Tyki to surprise attack him.

But Tyki evades him like nothing. He in fact vanishes into nothing, not even I can see him, and the next thing I know he slashes through Allen to stand behind him. Tyki then blasts some kind of power onto him that makes the loud tolling of a bell before it blows Allen away towards me. The boy gathers himself enough to turn and skid to a stop but I see that Tyki isn't stopping.

_Protect them._

"But…I can't." And yet my legs were moving me. Without knowing, I run up to Allen despite the throbbing in my leg.

_On the contrary, child._

"No!" I hear him yell when he see me close to where he stopped. "Get back!" He's paying so much attention to me that he doesn't see Tyki preparing another attack and this time it's to his closer target: me. Allen skirts around and throws his cloak and armed hand over my shoulder to protect me from the attacks of the tolling bells.

But I won't let him fight this alone. Tyki's my friend, despite what's happened, I don't want him to fight. I don't want the exorcists to fight either. I won't let them fight each other meaninglessly anymore. If I have to I'll protect them from one another.

_Only you can._

Tyki draws his arm back to attack again. Seeing this I grab onto Allen and can't help but voice this desire out, "I'll protect them!"

Instead of the sound of tolling bells, all I hear is a muffled noise as his attack falls on thick glass. Both Allen and I stare in shock at the glass of a faint green color that now stands between Tyki's attacks and us. My eyes wander around us as do his and we notice that it's not only in front, it's all around us. We're in a glass bubble.

"W-What is this?" Allen mutters feeling the bubble and touching a hard glass as well. From the other side, Tyki bares his serrated teeth at us and continues to attack it again. One hit, two hits, three hits. Despite them the glass won't break but I feel each hit on my body. By the fourth I grab my stomach and hack only to see the blood sprayed across the bubble. "What's happening?!"

From my blurred vision I catch the sight of Tyki drawing his arm back for a bigger attack. I won't take another hit.

_Release it._

"I'm sorry…Allen," I whisper. The boy's quick and wraps ourselves under his Crown Clown and just as Tyki goes for the blow, the glass bubble shatters into flakes of green and we take the hit directly. Although it doesn't hit me, the pain from the bubble was too much. We crash against a pillar and soon we're free falling. But before we hit the ground or Tyki gets to attack us, something swoops up from midair and takes us away from him.

Because of how much I was clinging to Allen and he to me, we're taken along by Lavi who caught us. "Tyki Mikk, huh?" he says under his breath. Allen points out the door once he gets some grasp on his consciousness and I cringe at the reminder.

That's right. The door that Road had left behind was their only exit. _Our_ only exit. Tyki's sudden cackle rings through the tower just before he launches to attack us again. Lavi screams to hold on and that's exaclty what I do just before he extends the handle and we're shot up to the upper floor.

Once there with Lenalee and the other, I can finally get a good luck at the injuries Allen got because of me. If only I could—

_But you can._

I can heal him. But…at my own expense. I'm already tired, and my visions going from blurred to clear every few seconds. My consciousness is barely hanging by a thread as it is. If I do believe I can and I try to heal him then it'll cost me what little I have left. And even if I can, will whatever wounds I heal be enough to allow them to go against Tyki as he is now?

There's no time to think though. Tyki's already here even before Lavi can do anything. But when Tyki threatens to attack, Lavi pushes all of us aside and takes the hit head on with his hammer. It's in vain though for Tyki just passes through him and attacks getting a grave injury on his shoulder. Just then Allen wakes up and attacks Tyki too but the two are way too overpowered. This isn't a fight that they can give it their all and hope to win.

It's clear watching as they're being beaten that this is too one-sided. And the odds are against them. The tentacles that suddenly start spreading around the room catch my attention. Lavi and Allen are too far from me. Lenalee and the human aren't. Before the tower's roof falls upon us, I grab both of their hands. At feeling my hold, the girl stares me dead in the eyes but I don't falter.

_Let me do something. Please, let me protect someone._

As if compliant, seconds before the room was toppled the bubble rose from beneath me. It's fast and I can't catch a glimpse of how it even grew but it did. It saves us from the debris that I clearly hear and feel falling around us. Exhausted from using it again, it crumbles just when we're on the clear from the building but we're still in danger. Not far away is Tyki stalking towards us with a malicious grin on his face.

He stops not far and I catch the sight of one of his tentacles crawling towards Lenalee. Before it can reach her, my hand is already on my butterfly knife and snapping it out. Holding the knife backhanded, I slash at the tentacle which makes it draw back. This gives me enough room to stand between him and the other two.

"What are you—"

But I ignore Lenalee's question and talk to the thing before us. "Fighting kids ain't a pretty deal, big guy," I say with a smug grin on my face as I hold my knife tighter. "Pick on someone your size." He returns the grin and attacks me with his tentacles. They're many but the patterns are not hard. Despite this I can tell he's just playing with me. He knows I'm no threat to him.

And that point's proven when I dodge one but miss the one that's coming on my right. Bracing myself, I clutch my arms close to my body but don't feel the attack. Instead I hear the loud crack of glass and at looking up I see that the bubble's up again. Protecting me.

But it's weakened from before. It shatters after two hits and they wrap around me. The limbs climb up to my throat despite me placing my hand there to keep them off. The grip they have on me is getting tight and my eyes start getting watery. I hear the clatter of my blade when it falls to the floor. One of my hands is bound by the tentacles on my throat. He's way too close and he pulls me up to get a better look.

As I'm trying to gasp for air my hand comes up to grab at his face that isn't covered by the helmet. "T-Ty..ki—d…on't—"

For an instant, unless my eyes have failed me, I think I see the grin falter into something else but I have no time to inspect it. The expression goes away as quickly as it came and changes into a scowl before he tosses me aside. The hard floor and debris hurt my body as I slide across some feet away from them. From there I can see that Tyki's aiming for Lenalee before he catches her in a choke hold like he had me before. Sitting up, I can't help but cough from how I'd been deprived from air before. My vision is still blurred but I do catch a glimpse of the human, Chaoji, when he rushes to help Lenalee. Just then I hear something break beneath us; it's the tower.

Despising my body that screams for me to stop, I get up and run their way just as the floor beneath us breaks. Tyki smacked down Lenalee just as it began to crumble too. She's now falling but still bound. Reaching my hand out I manage to grab onto her leg and without a thought pull her towards me. It's when I catch her that I hold her closer to me and search for the other human. I find him above us, trying to reach for us with his hand. I stretch one of my arms out in an attempt to do the same but it's in vain.

The debris is falling on us quicker than he'll reach and even if he does, it'll do us no good. When I see no other way out I retract my hand to embrace Lenalee and keep her from harm's way.

_Work._

But the bubble won't form. There's on a tingling underneath me, on the soles of my feet, but it won't do more than that.

_Work!_

Looking down, I can see the floor quickly approaching us and that just makes me hold her tighter. I won't let anybody else die when I'm with them. No more. **"Work, damn it!"**

And just before the debris encloses on us, I feel a fire burning from my feet as it spreads around us and I see the green glass sphere wrap around us. My eyes close on their own and I feel the heavy hit it gets from crashing on the ground. So much so that the air is punched from my lungs and I immediately hear the sphere break on impact.

My consciousness goes away for a few seconds but the pain quickly wakes me. A hand's on my shoulder and when I look up, I see the blurred image of Lenalee. She grabs it tighter at noticing me staring at her. "Oh, thank goodness." Tired as I am, I groan when I push myself to sit. "Are you—"

"No," I say under my breath. My leg hurts. Everything's hurting. And what's most concerning is that I'm starting to feel cold. The warmth from before is gone completely.

_I'm wasted completely._

My gaze comes up to see what's before us. It's the human, Chaoji, and he's holding up all the debris that fell upon us. Lenalee mumbles something about Innocence but now isn't really the time for speculations. Let's just not count our blessings yet. Shaking the dizziness out of my head, I reach to the tentacles that hold Lenalee captive. She groans at my pulling but I urge her to try and rip them apart too. We try a few more times but they're too tight around her. When we can't, her concern turns to Chaoji because he's exerting his body to a very dangerous extreme by using his raw Innocence.

But he's right. There's nowhere to run to, not with _him_ coming back and threatening to attack us. Coming up to a crouch, I'm ready to take it if that's what it comes down to. But I doubt that this time it'll even appear. I'm too tired. But just as Tyki charges at us, two familiar weapons pass by us and block Tyki's attack. They take a couple of his attacks and are pushed back before he disappears from our sight. When Chaoji yells out Lenalee's name, I immediately and without thinking take her in my arms to keep her from harm. But it's a punch that never comes; Allen's holding him back. He taunts him and Tyki takes the bait but the kid's too exhausted. We all are. He won't make it.

Yet just as I think Tyki'll land his attack, something appears from underneath Allen—some insignia—seconds before a huge blast of energy comes out from the floor. It blasts Tyki away but also lets Allen fall beneath a crater it created. And although I know that I should be worried like Lenalee and Chaoji are, I'm not.

_Because he's here._

And Lenalee just verifies my suspicions. "General…Cross." I'm thinking he's our savior until he tosses Allen all the way to us.

There's little time for me to scramble out of the way and once I safely can, I scream at the top of my lungs just after he's landed. "Watch where you're fucking throwing people, you old shit!?" But he's not listening to me and instead orders Lavi to come our way too.

_Fucking old fart._

"Miss, are you all right?" When Allen calls me, I turn and am caught by surprise by his concerned expression.

"Y-Yeah, I suppose." But I'm getting colder by the second. It's gotten so bad that I can't help myself from shivering.

"You're shaking, mi—"

"Reina," I snap but shake my head and apologize. "My bad. It's just…it's too cold. And I'm exhausted."

"We won't be here much longer, looks like," Lavi replies but is looking out at the two.

And as we watch the General unwrap the coffin he has with him, a terrible feeling comes over me. He's a whole other level of exorcist, and I remember something else. This fight…it's one-sided now in our favor. And as they start fighting my suspicions are confirmed. He's obliterating Tyki and he's literally leaving him in the dust. That brings a more horrible thought to my mind.

"He's going to kill him."

"Miss Reina?"

My head shakes at the thought and I completely ignore the one who called me. "He can't kill him. That General can't kill Tyki."

"Looks like the complete opposite," Lavi retorts while we all overlook the battle. And he's right. If this fight continues on like this he'll end Tyki.

_I don't want that._

The sudden hit of an earthquake makes us all look around at the only piece of land left in the ark. It's crumbling down because time's almost up. This place will destroy itself. Allen yells at his master to make him conscious of it. He aims ready to finish Tyki off and I'm about to get up and yell something at him when the ground on the other side of Cross simply bursts out from energy. It's hard to hear but not to see and the person there is as plain as day.

_The fat man._

But just as the image clears, the ground beneath me moves. Quick on my feet as I am, I manage to jump and scramble out of the way of the falling ground. But when I turn back I see that Lavi and Chaoji aren't that lucky. Allen tries to save them but they fall regardless. That just puts another pit in my stomach.

They can't be dead. Allen's sudden scream of pain rattles my brain and makes me cover my ears. When more of the floor breaks, Allen and Lenalee separate from me since I'm much farther away from them. Yet the floor underneath me too starts breaking and I jump around the broken pieces until I find solid ground again. Thankfully it's before it starts breaking into a larger piece as well. It's to my surprise that I land on the same piece that the General's on and much more importantly, near the Earl.

There's much meaningless chatter between them. They definitely know each other for one. And on another note Cross is indeed a sneaky bastard. It's when Cross mentions a certain name that a bell rings in my ears.

"14th?" I whisper under my breath. A groan escapes me when the static starts in my head louder than ever. But even louder than that is the angry shout that Allen gives before I feel something fly by us with great force.

Attacking the Earl now, he's in a rampage. That's a stupid way to fight too. If he doesn't calm down he'll die too. He destroys the piece of earth that the Earl was standing on and continues to go after him despite everything else.

"He's going to fall!" I cry out even though I can do nothing about it.

When I hear the click of a tongue, though, I turn to find Cross with an irritated expression on his face. "Idiot apprentice." He turns to the lady beside him, "Maria." She opens her lips and a single note comes from her voice box. Quickly after, I hear the noise of something raking against rock. Cross looks over the edge and tells him the same thing I was thinking before making him climb back up with 'Maria's' power. Lenalee somehow finds her way to us as well and goes on to look over Allen.

The boy's furious and with good reason but right now isn't the time for that.

"I saved you from the Noah because I need your help," Cross says after they gain some composure. When the kids ask for what, he tells them for a mission. Apparently he's here to destroy some sort of plant and he needs their help. Cross then orders the little gold bird—one that I vaguely remember from China—to takes us somewhere. A blinding light engulfs us and leaves us in a completely different place.

The room we're now in is littered with bodies and stinks of blood. But what really takes my attention is the huge egg-shaped object that's before Cross and I and behind the other two. From the top, tiny particles are detaching themselves and floating away. It's disappearing. Cross tells us that this room, the "Akuma plant", is the last room to download. And if it finishes then this Ark will disappear and us with it.

_Damn, that finality though._

Another earthquake hits and this room, too, begins to crumble at the edges. Allen inquires what we're to do to stop it and Cross only says that Allen will be the one to stop it. This leaves him stunned as I expected. Cross, though, doesn't seem to care and casts a spell on the egg to slow the download for a little bit before sending Allen off with 'Tim'—the gold bird—into 'the final room.' Allen gets dragged by Tim and they both disappear into another room.

"It's because you're the only one who can do it…idiot apprentice." Cross' words get drowned when more of the floor begins to crack and fall apart. He clicks his tongue and turns to Lenalee, "Get closer to me." Lenalee can still easily move but when I try to my legs won't even move. When I touch them it's even worse. A pain courses through me. They are ice cold and my hands, even though they're cold themselves, still hold some warmth. At touching the cold skin with the mildly warm it sends sharp pains through me.

"Miss Reina!" she calls turning to me while reaching her hand out.

"Forget about me and get yourself safe first!" I yell out not believing that my body isn't listening to me. It won't move.

_It's so cold._

"Not a chance!" she yells back and while Cross is holding her, she reaches down and grabs my forearm before pulling me closer to them. But the instant her hand makes contact with my skin a tiny bit of heat comes to my body again. My legs are still stiff like they're dead but my arms recover some strength to pull myself along when she does too. Although it's uncomfortable, I cling onto the bend leg of the General's and sit on the ground while he carries Lenalee on his arm.

But this is still something. I feel warmth coursing through my body again. And it's coming from all the places that I'm coming in contact with the General. Just then I hear him click his tongue and I think he's about to say something to us when he suddenly screams for his 'idiot apprentice.' The more that they talk the more the warmth continues to crawl into my body. With just a few seconds, I can feel my legs.

_I feel warm again._

"What the—"

"This again?!"

At their shocked voices, I'm forced to open the eyes I had unconsciously closed. But when I look out all is tinted in a greenish hue. The bubble again.

Cross ignores it for now and instead tells Allen that if he plays the piano with the score that Tim has then the Ark should listen to his will. But the connection seems to falter and finally breaks halfway through. The earth beneath us shakes again but the sphere doesn't shatter this time. Neither am I loosing strength nor warmth.

"It's you, isn't it, brat?" Cross shakes his leg slightly to tell me that he's talking to me.

_Brat? Look who's talking about age, you fucking old fart._

"I don't know," is all I can say before I turn up to the last bit of the egg that's still holding together. There's something in me that remembers about this place. About a piano and a certain song. And the requirements left behind to play it. "Both 'Allen' and 'Timcanpy' are needed. That's the 'Musician's' legacy."

Just then something happens. I can hear the sound of a piano playing and not only that but I think the others can hear it too. The general let his curiosity about me go and instead focused on the fact that the communicator he has connected again. He yells for Allen to control the Ark with his wish.

And seconds before the Ark is to disappear, it stops and then reverses its course. The egg becomes whole again as does the room. We finally have enough room for each to take a sit. Once we separate, I breathe a sigh of relief and with it the shield recedes back. Like a blooming flower, it opens up and sinks back beneath me where I feel most of the warmth piling up. It's there a moment and gone the next but I don't feel so exhausted anymore. My body's tattered and I have cuts, bruises, and that pesky wound on my leg throbbing but I'm whole. And what's most important…

_I'm not cold anymore._

When I look up, the General crosses my gaze but I quickly avert it from discomfort. He also ignores it and instead brags about what a job well done the teacher and student have done. After being so deservedly ignored, he tells Allen that he can open a door to where he is if he wishes it.

A few seconds later, a streak of light shoots from the floor before opening to a white door. This seems…oddly familiar. Like the doors that man would open. Lenalee and Cross go ahead of me since I struggle to stand up and even more to walk. Nobody seems to care though.

"Here." The deep baritone voice catches me by surprise and my eyes come up to meet a deep red eye. Cross stands before me with one of his hands reaching to help me.

There's no reason for me not to accept it. Okay, maybe the creepy vibes I'm getting from him are enough of a reason but I can't very well walk on my own with this leg. "Thanks," I say, accepting his hand and letting him guide me through the door that opened.

The moment I see the room we come into I'm flabbergasted.

_I've been to this room before._

It's the piano room. The first room that I ever saw when I first got into the Ark. The room that the _man_ got me into when I went searching for Tyki. He took me here and nothing had changed about it. Once I'm a tiny bit over the room's reappearance, I glance over to Allen who has a very angry expression on his face. The two start a heavy argument right there and then.

Allen's about to ask about something when the loudest shout ever calls out dinnertime. And I recognize it as Lavi's. It's even stranger that we get a visual of the place outside where Lavi and Chaoji are wandering the place. It's a few minutes later that two others appear through the doors. I remember their names too.

_Kanda Yuu. Arystar Krory III._

I'm relieved, really, that they're alive and a smile comes to my face. Cross walks to the single chair in the room and leaves me alone. I walk back onto the wall and sit down, tired from everything. I'm so tired I could probably fall asleep here.

_Don't._

True, I can't. Not when I don't know these people. But even then my instincts are telling me that I shouldn't worry too much. At least when I'm with them there's a serenity in the air that's calming.

Allen opens the door for them to come in. The group reunites and friend welcome friend, with the exception of the long-haired boy and Allen. They put the unconscious man to rest on the sofa in the room, and the quartet of boys decide to go out in a reconnaissance mini mission. Lenalee and Cross stay behind with me. Curiously nobody seems to notice my presence throughout their bout.

_Am I really that transparent?_

I mean, I know I'm pretty boring and plain to say the least but for them to just simply ignore me is a little harsh. But then again I can't really complain; silence right now sounds really good. Especially if I want to take a well-deserved nap.

"He's won't wake up." Lenalee's comment makes my eyes that had closed, open and glance over at her. She's kneeling before the man with a jacket on her body—Lavi's, I think.

_Don't help, Reina. Don't involve yourself when you can easily get out of this from here. Just fly right past and don't mind them._

But I can't. I've worried way too much about these kids to not care even if a little. And if I've learned anything from the past it's that my enemy's enemy is always my friend. So with that in mind, I stand up with a groan and walk slowly but surely their way. Cross doesn't say anything but Lenalee questions what I'm doing when I kneel down before the guy.

"I'm going to give him a quick look," I answer. "I don't have any formal training but I do know some things about medicine and the like."

"I wouldn't touch him if I were you," the general comments.

His comment doesn't bother me though and I ignore him. But just when my hands touch the man's throat to check for his pulse, a gleam of green light covers my palms. It's hot and when I draw my hand back from the sudden pain that courses through me it stops completely.

"That light…!" Lenalee murmurs. But she remains ignored by me while I'm rubbing the hot feeling from my hand. It's then that I turn to glare at the general.

"How did you know…?"

He keeps my sight in his before he takes a big swig of his cigarette. The smell reminds me of something that pains me so I let it slip. At least I would have had he not spoken up again. "Heaven's Touch."

"What?" _What's he talking about?_

"It seems you guys found many accommodators in amidst this little trip." He blows out another cloud before coming to look at me. "And not only Heaven's Touch but also a very valuable piece."

"Start talking unless you want me to punch you, old man," I threaten with bared teeth. I'm not in the mood to be played around with.

"Just that I've finally found the little 'storyteller'."

"Storyteller?" Lenalee asks, completely lost to the conversation. But I'm not. In fact, I'm wishing here that he isn't talking about what I think he's talking about.

"Long ago someone told me about a person with your powers," he began explaining. "He said that this person would have no other role in the war but to safeguard others. One with that power would be able to read and change the contents of the 'story.' A story that the Order knows as the one told in the cube. And the one who knows the story's original ending." He takes the cigarette out of his mouth and blows out another cloud before he catches my gaze again. "So tell me, 'Miss Reina', are you the little foreteller of this 'story'?"

My gaze falls down to the floor. This is the same thing that the guy told me. Give or take some details but it was basically the same. And if they're right then I do have power over how this story ends if I know its ending from my world.

But if they know then I'll be used. Just like how Noir used me, like how the Earl and the Noah used me, they surely will not hesitate to utilize me for powers that I don't know the slightest idea about. And I know what my mind's telling me too.

_Don't admit it, Reina._

But if he knows something I don't, maybe it could help me. Maybe it could get me back home.

_Home?_

Although the idea pains me for some reason, I toss it aside and answer with another question. "And if I am?"

He scoffs and this makes me look up to him. In his eye and in the wry smile he's wearing, I see nothing but pity. "Welcome to hell."


	19. Chapter 19

_**Nineteen** _

**Return**

* * *

Exorcists are very…carefree.

That's the only thing that I can come up with to describe them. The notions that go past me as they bicker and fight, as they talk and worry, it's like watching a family sitcom. A very cheesy one but very likeable nonetheless.

Even after Allen disconnects the Ark to get back to Edo, there's still so much talking. People are weeping with joy and some are angry yet relieved. This is just like a family being reunited.

And all of them seem to be dismissing my presence. For some reason, I stay behind with Cross and the unconscious Krory while Allen attempts to connect to the 'Asian Branch.'

I sat back trying not to catch anybody's attention. Most of the kids like Lavi and the rest already knew I'm just a human. The only one from their party that's eyeing me quite oddly was a short, old man with just a spring of gray hair popping out from his head. His eyes are heavily dressed with black and it made him look like he had huge bags under his eyes. Every time I glance his way, he's staring at me. I don't like that—feels like he's scrutinizing me under that shallow gaze.

It's hard but I manage to not pay much attention to him or any of the others and instead stay back until they connect with the Asian Branch. When Cross starts disembarking, for some reason or another I follow close behind.

I know, it's dumb. But to be honest he's the only one besides the voice that knows anything about the foreteller. That's something on my book. And although he's shown a much too friendly vibe, there's not much else I can do.

I know no one here. And even though I know nothing of him either, he knows of me. Or at least of what I'm supposed to be in this place.

_That's good enough for now._

But it's a wonder that they've kept him still in the Ark for even a few minutes seeing as the moment we set foot on the Asian Branch he's breaking for it. Luckily, Lenalee stops him in his tracks albeit not with the prettiest of strategies.

"You're really a pain in the ass for these kids, aren't you, you old fart?" I say with a scoff as I step to the side of Lenalee who's desperately hugging the general.

This bursts him out of his stupor long enough for him to retort at me. "Who're you calling an old fart, woman?"

"You, you old fart."

"And who's this?" The short blonde man from before—the head of the place, I supposed—asks of me.

There are thousands of reasons why I should respond and yet I didn't want to. I feel scrutinized and much too overwhelmed about being pinpointed like that. But it didn't seem like I had to say anything because Cross quickly intervenes.

He places one rather large hand atop my head and stands beside me. The man is huge now that I think more about it.

_Maybe as tall as Ty—_

But I quickly shake that thought out of my head. The general then speaks up on my behalf, "She's with me."

And nobody questions it. It surprises me a little but I can't say it's unexpected. He has this commanding aura around him and everybody seems to accept that as the others go to contact their Headquarters. Like before, I stay behind with Cross and silence ensues.

Not for long though.

"Why are you so adamant on protecting me?"

"You?" he asks, scoffing while picking a cigarette from his pocket. "Who said it was for you?"

_Okay, different approach then._

"What do I have that you want?" I ask quietly as the others return. They begin clamoring around with the Ark before we're to go back in so that this time it takes us where we need to go. During this whole process, I don't separate from Cross since he hasn't answered my question yet.

"I just want to see what you'll bring to the table, foreteller," he admits, blowing a puff of smoke after lighting up his stick.

"I don't know what it's like to be a foreteller. I don't have the slightest clue—"

"Of course you don't," Cross agrees while eyeing the rest of the group. "Your job's more that of an editor's."

"And how do you know this, exactly?"

"Someone told me."

_It's like jumping hoops with this guy._

"Are you going to tell me names or just keep it in the down low?"

"Let's keep it in the down low for now, shall we?"

"Let's not, how about that?" I say already tired of his shenanigans. "I want to know what you know about the foreteller and you're going to tell me _now_."

"Or what?" His eyebrow rises a bit at my unspoken threat.

I open my mouth ready to say something but I'm rudely interrupted when the boys cheer out that they've made connection with Headquarters. They all go ahead but he decides to stay behind along with Krory. Since I have nothing to do out there, I decide to stay behind as well.

_Or at least I would have._

"You're not coming?"

The question takes me a lot by surprise and it's mostly because it's Allen who stays behind to ask it. I'm staring dumbfounded at the kid before I realize he's talking to me.

"I-I shouldn't," is all that comes out of me.

"Yes, you should," he disagrees and stretches a hand out to me. "You've been through a lot lately. And besides, if what Master said is true then you're one of us now. Maybe it'll be good to meet your new comrades."

' _One of us'?_

Those words astound me for some reason. My whole life the number of people who've said that are scarce. The O'Conner family took a while to welcome me fully even when they didn't. But in this place I've already been told that…twice in a year. That's more than I ever hoped for, really.

"I don't know if—"

"He's right." This time it's Cross who spoke and that takes us both by surprise. "You're an accommodator and as such you're a part of the crummy little group. Again, welcome."

This time there's still this condescending tone to his welcome but before I can question anything, Allen takes my hand and gets my attention.

"Shall we go then?"

His question is so innocent and so genuine that I want to accept. These people seem so much more welcoming than the Noah. And this boy…I can't just say no. It's with that in mind that I start taking a few steps towards the Gate until something comes to my mind.

_What if it's a trap._

That thought stops me in my tracks. It's not out of fear for myself but for fear of what could happen to these people. I'm scared that perhaps the Earl and the rest will do something to them. They can track me down—my hand reaches up to my necklace that has been there forever since I'm unable to take it off. But even though I grip it tightly in my grasp, I can't force myself to rip it off of me.

And that's how I get to a standstill. I don't want to get this children in danger…but I can't rip this necklace off. It's my—

"I understand you must be nervous." Allen's words bring me back to him and his smile calms me down. "But it'll be all right." His eyes go down to our hands which are still linked together. He quickly let's go and a pink hue comes across his face. That he gets flustered so easily makes me chuckle and that just eases his worries. "Maybe a proper introduction might help." He reaches out his hand and this time it seems he wants a handshake.

"My name's Allen Walker."

His smile is grand and the sincerity in his words, though few, is clear. This boy is something else. And that's why I can't help but shake his hand. "My name's Reina Amaro. Nice to meet you, Allen."

"Well, Miss Amaro, welcome to the Black Order."

Something then and there clicks in my mind. The names, the places, the events…I know why they sounded so familiar before. I know from where I've read them before.

" _Nice to meet you, Allen Walker!"_ _But her eleven year old self couldn't contain the giddiness that came from having enacted being accepted into the Black Order as an Exorcist with Jaden as the male lead. "Ah, I can't! It's too much."_

" _You'd really want to join?" he asked me._

" _Of course! To be able to fight the Akuma, be an Exorcist and fight along with Allen would be the best thing in the world!" I declared. "I'd give anything to be a part of D. Gray-Man!"_

"Miss Amaro?"

"Y-Yeah!" He jumps a bit at my sudden high-pitched voice and I apologize swiftly after. I can't believe I just lost my cool there. "J-Just call me Reina; it's fine."

"Well, Miss Reina, shall we?"

"Sure." I manage to get my voice back in control but my head's still going around in circles with that sudden epiphany I just had. There's not much I can do but follow him to the outside where the hoard of people welcome these children back like a family.

My mind though still rages out completely by itself.

* * *

A couple of days have gone by and things have gotten more peaceful. It surprised me very much that the nurses, after attending to the Exorcists who were really badly hurt, also came to attend to me and all the injuries that I had.

There were a few but by what the Matron told me they were healing surprisingly quickly. I blamed that on whatever the heck I have inside of me but didn't voice it. They're more than hospitable here and even give me a bed with the other female Exorcists, Lenalee Lee and Miranda Lotto.

Although we haven't spoken much since they sleep to recover most of the time, I've had plenty of time to ponder about the brilliant—and at the same time stupidly ridiculous—realization I had two days ago.

I'm in the D. Gray-Man universe.

Without meaning to, I start tripping out in my bed by thrashing my legs and arms and hitting my pillow. But no matter how big my tantrum is I can't get it out of my head.

_You must be fucking kidding me!?_

This can't be right. But then it has to be.

The memories I have about it are few and they aren't very clear either. My mind must've recognized the characters and some of the events which is why I knew names and could tell what was going to happen next.

_That makes you a foreteller, like for reals._

No shit, brain. I'm starting to understand that myself. Although I stopped reading the manga after the chapters stopped uploading when I was about twelve, I know that I haven't the slightest idea of anything now.

My brain has always been a little bitch like that. Every time there's something important I need to remember, it always shuts down and buffers. It's the main reason why many tests I took I would flunk on the first try but bomb them on the second. I need to get used to something before I can handle it properly.

And this is no exception, but I'm having a rather hard time believing where I am.

"Miss Amaro?"

"I'm okay," I tell the Matron who stands over me after I'm done with my tantrum. "My head hurts."

"We're giving you some painkillers already for the wound on your leg," she answers, examining my right thigh that's now bandaged as I lay on the bed. "But you're making an amazing progress. For now, you should rest as well."

"Thank you for your help," I say.

"A pleasure," she replies with a smile before leaving.

"Are you sure you're okay, Miss Reina?" Miranda, whose bed's across from mine, asks a little shy.

"Yeah, I'm feeling okay," I assure her. But I'm not really in the mood to sleep so I sit up instead. Just then my stomach starts rumbling and I grab onto it to make it stop. That just makes it growl even louder. "I'm a little hungry though."

"You know," Lenalee starts glancing my way from across the room, "You're the most healed out of us so I don't think you have to wait to get food. You could go the cafeteria."

"Can I?" My stomach rumbles at the mere thought of food. "I guess I'll have to then."

Throwing my legs over the edge of the bed, I bend down to put on the slip on shoes they provided me. That isn't the only thing they gave me though. They also gave me a nice pair of pants, kind of like leggings, and a neat long-sleeve blouse and a cardigan I could wear. This place is just a very nice place with even nicer people. Lenalee gives me brief directions to the cafeteria and I thank her for them before leaving.

The first thought I have is this: the Order's huge.

It's true that I might not remember much about the anime or manga in general but I do recall there being huge settings for many places. As I'm heading towards the cafeteria—at least going the way Lenalee told me—something strikes me.

It's a feeling like a slight nudge on my chest. Out of instinct, my hand comes up to my chest and I feel a little out of breath but the feeling doesn't stop. It's almost like it wants me to go somewhere and when I turn towards a certain direction it just becomes bigger. It's nothing bad though and my gut doesn't seem to be against it either, so I take the initiative and follow it.

A couple of people cross paths with me but they don't say anything and only give me sideway glances. Doing what I do best, I ignore them and instead keep to my route. In the end, it leads me to a room where a whole bunch of scientists are scattered about and in the center is the grand Gate surfacing from the floor with a number '3' etched on one side.

_It wants me to go inside._

My chest and gut start getting that feeling again and the burning in my palms tells me that I'm right. It does want me to go inside the Ark. So using my awesome ninja skills—which are really just walking in like I own the place and not getting noticed—I manage to go through the Gate and into the white city. The feeling increases the more I approach the only room that I know: the piano room.

On my way to it, though, I'm finding bits and pieces of leftover food that lead right to the open door of the piano room.

_Like Hansel and Gretel._

A giggle escapes me before nearing the door. Taking a peek inside, Allen's already there eating his worries away with Tim close. Timcanpy's showing him a score of some kind and even though it's far I can vaguely recognize a sigil.

His voice travels through the empty room to the outside and to me. From where I am, I hear him speak his worries out. He's scared that he might be walking a path that was predestined for him. Something that he has no choice in. And I can understand what he's feeling.

For years I've wondered if God had been cruel enough to put a lonely and lost little girl through such hardships. And sometimes I believe that he was and he continues to be. This God that I hate so much is one that's not merciful. He puts us through these hardships without any prior reason and without a choice.

_And free will is the one gift we have as human beings._

"I don't understand anymore, Tim," Allen's voice reaches to me. "Is this really a path I chose myself?"

For some reason, I can't help myself from speaking up. Something urges me to help him understand things in a different way. A way that I've learned to see them.

_A brighter way._

"Most probably not." As I walk into the room, both he and Tim face me and I only give him a small smile.

"Miss Reina?" he asks but looks away briefly to wipe away something from his face.

_Poor boy._

"I'm sorry," I immediately say while brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "I shouldn't have eavesdropped. But the things you're thinking about are just a topic that I'm a little familiar with."

"Familiar?" he asks again.

There's just a smile from me before I come up to him. He's such a little gentleman that he scooches over to let me have a sit on the small bench. He faces up at the ceiling awaiting my answer while I pick up a hamburger from his bag of treats.

I grab a tiny bite and chew a few times before swallowing and continuing the conversation. "Yeah. It might not be easy to tell but I'm an orphan too."

"You're parents…?"

"My dad died when I was little and my mother died before I met her," I tell him as I continue to eat. "And through the many struggles and whatnot, I've also always wondered the same thing. Is this really something that was planned for me? Regardless of what I did, was I destined to go through such things and become who I am?"

"Did you ever get an answer?" he asks, seemingly hopeful.

"Not one that anybody told me," I reply. "I had to think very hard about it to come to my own answer. And I came up with this. Maybe the lives we're given are destined and the things that happen to us are meant to happen." This answer doesn't seem to be the one he expects but I put my hand on his head reassuringly after finishing my meal. "But that doesn't mean we're powerless to do anything about it. Much less that we have to do it alone."

A great quote then comes to me from one of my favorite authors that just summed it all up beautifully. Because of her books and her dear characters is why I've come to hold this as the hope in my life.

"Like a wise, broken, and old man once said: ' _We are all the writers of our lives. We can make our stories comedies or tragedies. Tales of horror, or of inspiration. Your attitude and your fortitude and courage are what determine your destiny. Life is hard and it sucks for all. Every person you meet is waging his or her own war against a callous universe that is plotting against them. And we are all battle-weary. But in the midst of our hell, there is always something we can hold on to, whether it's a dream of the future or a memory of the past, or a warm hand that soothes us. We just have to take a moment during the fight to remember that we're not alone, and that we're not just fighting for ourselves. We're fighting for the people we love'."_

Allen remained quiet for the longest time, hurdled up in the little ball of himself. So I continue talking without any say.

"You have amazing people here who love and care about you, Allen. I don't have to be part of this family of yours for long to see that," I say and bring his head to my shoulder as I stroke his back like Papa would do to me when I was scared. "And you have to realize that you have within you what it takes to get through this hellish war you're fighting, be it the one against the Earl and the Akuma or the one within yourself. The last thing that I always remember when I'm feeling like you are right now is that there are people in my life that care about me and who will always love me despite everything."

"And I'm lucky…" he mumbles with a sniffle.

He buries his face deeper into his knees to hide that but I hear it loud and clear. "Yeah, Allen. You're lucky to have them. So follow your instincts and be true to what you wish to do; screw what everyone else says. After all, if you listen to yourself then you'll always do what's best."

Allen nods against my shoulder and I smile. It's almost like having a kid of my own. But he doesn't stay there for long and eventually pulls back while wiping at his face. He gives me a bright smile that's—dare I say—even more true than the ones he's given me before.

"Thank you, Reina."

My lips form a smile without me thinking it. And my emotions just flow out with my words. "Anytime, kid."

He sighs and Tim comes over to nest on his head. "We should head back. The Head Nurse will be angry with us if we don't go back to the hospital ward."

"But I'm hungry~" I coo and grab at his bag of treats. "What do you have in here?"

"Ah, you want to see?" We spend a good hour or so rummaging through it and eating away. For one, I'm surprised that I've found someone with as big as an appetite as mine. Despite my figure, I tended to eat a lot at home which was mostly small meals throughout the day. And another was that he isn't as gloomy anymore. We spent a while there just chatting and eating until the Head Nurse comes bursting in. She takes Allen by the ear and begins dragging him back while I follow close behind also being scolded. Her other hand doesn't remain unoccupied for long, though, because a few minutes later, once out of the Ark, we find Kanda Yuu lurking about and he gets a scolding too while being dragged back to the infirmary by the ear.

_It's like their little kids._

We're almost to the hospital ward when two guards like the ones from before that were guarding the Gate appear before us.

"What is it?" the Head Nurse asks rather irritated.

"Reina Amaro?"

At hearing my name, I instantly look up to them and answer, "Yes?"

Without saying a word, they come closer to me and grab my wrists before slapping cuffs onto me. Allen and the Head Nurse protest against the rough handling to which they reply, "We were given orders, ma'am. Because of her possible connections to the Noah Clan and the Millennium Earl, the Inspector has ordered for Reina Amaro to be detained until further notice."

They both try to dispute this again but I simply turn my head over my shoulder to look at them with a smile. "It'll be fine. I don't know what's happening myself but I'll be okay. Just—" they yank me hard by my chain. It's hard not to wince but I manage to hide the pain from my expression. "—get better, all right, Al?"

"Y-Yeah," he says defeated, and only watches me as I walk away with the guards guiding me. We walk some place in the first floor or basement and all the while I keep hearing people talking things about me. It seems rumors fly fast around these parts.

At last, we get to where they had been ordered to send me. They open the door and walk me inside before uncuffing me and closing the door behind themselves as they leave. I turn to inspect it and it's nothing but a cell. An _actual_ jail cell with nothing but a crummy bed and concrete walls all around.

_Insanity, here I come._

* * *

A whole day goes by—according to my inner clock—in which I am left inside the stinky, cold jail cell. No one comes in to visit, don't think they're allowed to. And they only come in to bring me food and it's never enough.

I don't waste the day I have there, though, and instead tried thinking hard about the plot of the manga or anime. Because it's been so long, it's hard to remember what exactly happened when, and since time's never implicitly spoken about in the story that I recall, I can't have a correct time to which events will follow now.

But I am starting to remember some of the events that I've been through. The train with Allen, Lavi, and Krory is one that I remember from the show. The things that happened in China and Allen losing his Innocence, I remember that one too. The events that happened at the Ark…

A shiver runs down my body at the memory of that. It's only been a few days but I wonder if they're all right. Jasdevi hopefully got better. Road won't die, I know that for sure. And Tyki—

_I hope he's okay._

The door opening suddenly takes my thoughts away from them and towards the people that are entering my women cave. Because of how bored I got the past twenty-four hours, I'm driven to think by letting blood flow into my brain. That means that I'm sitting with my back on the floor and my legs up against the wall like a little kid to let myself think about what's happening.

So when the door opens and they come in, I literally have to roll over on my back and get up. The two people that come in are just some general soldiers that I hadn't taken the time to remember but they aren't quick to introduce themselves either. They simply come over to me and handcuff me once more before taking me out.

They don't take me back to the hospital ward like I had hoped but instead they're taking me somewhere else. We go up to a floor where a hollow stands in the middle of the tower while many doors go around the curves for other rooms. Inside the hole is what looks to be an elevator to me and on it are a group of six people that I don't recognize.

Well, that is except for one.

"If I may ask, is this the sort of hospitability I'm to expect?" I ask, raising my cuffed hands to make a point. "Because if that's so, I'll be having a word with your management about your crappy cells."

"It's some sort of stupid precaution, woman," Cross replies while picking lint off his gloves.

"An unnecessary one," I add.

"As I've told them but they don't listen," he agrees.

"Miss Reina Amaro." This time it's another man that calls my name. It's one who's dressed all in white with a beret and glasses. For some reason, Lenalee's image comes to mind. "I'm Supervisor Komui Lee of the European Branch and Headquarters."

"I'd shake your hand for the amiable courtesy," I say and give him a droll stare before raising my cuffed hands. "But my hands are tied. Literally."

"Are these really necessary, Inspector Lvellie?" the supervisor asks another one of their companions.

This one actually irks me for some odd reason. He seems to bring to mind the picture of a very bad dictator. Adolf Hitler's too on the nose so I'll just go with Inspector Dick. Yeah, that sounds much more appropriate.

"Of course they are," Inspector Dick says. "Her connections are still in question and whether or not she truly is an Exorcist like General Marian proclaimed is still up to question." He orders for the elevator to be sent downward and after inputting some keys to what seemed to be a command board they make it head down into the hellhole that seems infinite.

"But once we uncover that mystery what will become of the girl?" This question is asked by a blonde woman that I can tell is older than me. She's beautiful which is saying something since that large scar across her face takes much attention. Then again I shouldn't be talking about scars myself.

_I have an ugly reminder on my shoulder after all._

"Obvious; she'll either join or be forced to cough up what she knows about the Clan." A burly man speaks this time and his voice is so raspy it's hard to understand. And although his mask doesn't make him any friendlier or easier to understand, I can catch a certain accent in his voice.

 _Mexican? No. Definitely from_ el Sur _though._

The southern Mexicans have a harder accent that comes up in their English and his, although hard to catch, is very much still there.

"Now, I doubt that the prodigal child would lie about something like that." The one to defend me, at least by the sound of it, is an older man. He doesn't seem as menacing as the Mexican guy but rather oozes a fatherly aura. Kind of like Santa Claus would.

"Of course I wouldn't," Cross retorts with a smug grin. I don't think he heard that as an insult as much as I did. But then again he could just be ignoring it.

The elevator stops gently once we get to what I assume is the lowest part of the hole. Nothing but darkness surrounds us and it creeps me out a little that this elevator works on no wiring or stuff like that.

"What are we doing here?"

"To proof a point." But before I get to turn around and ask what Cross meant, a loud popping comes to my ears. I'm so startled by it that I have to raise my hands to cover my ears as my eyes close shut. "And that's my argument."

This time his voice sounds muffled and when I open my eyes, everything is in a hue of green. When I turn around to face Cross, I notice that he has his gun drawn and smoke's swaying from the tip of the barrel.

"You asshole!" I scream, letting my rage out at knowing now exactly what that popping had been. "Who the fuck do you think you are to shoot at me point blank like that!?"

"Miss Amaro," the supervisor begins. "That bubble—" He touches it but from the outside it's rock solid despite being transparent like glass. "Did you summon it?"

"Hell no," I say, reaching my hands up to the bubble to touch it. At the touch of my fingers, though, the interior wobbles like water before popping and leaving me back with the rest. "It just comes up whenever it wants and it gets _annoying_ because bastards like _him_ think it is okay to shoot at me because of it!"

"But it _is_ okay," Cross argues childishly.

"It's most definitely _not_!" I yell back.

"Girl," the blonde calls me and gets my attention. "Do you realize what it is you're capable of doing?"

"No, and I frankly don't care either," I reply still livid from the asshole that shot at me. "Whatever this is I just want it out of me."

"There's a problem with that child," the old man, that I shall from here on refer to as Bob Ross, spoke up just then. "Innocence cannot be removed from its accommodator. Much less from a parasitic-type as yourself."

"What are you talking about?" I ask, hearing words that concern me a little since I recognize some of them.

"If what General Cross reported is correct then you are most definitely the accommodator to Heaven's Touch," the supervisor says while looking at some papers on a clipboard he has.

"You can't be sure, though," I quickly retort. "This could just be some other stupidly insane thing that has nothing to do with that Innocence of yours and you wouldn't know it."

"That's the reason we have brought you here," Inspector Dick says, giving his two cents into the conversation. He and the supervisor come forth close to the edge of the elevator and bring me closer as well.

"Don't be afraid," the supervisor assures me which makes me that much more nervous. "You'll be fine." He turns out towards the void and calls out loudly, "We've brought out someone that wishes to meet you, Hevlaska."

From the dark void beneath us, a strange light begins to emanate that bursts into a being that I could only imagine in my dreams. It's huge and stands over us like a massive bear would on a tiny prey. But the feeling I get from it isn't anything menacing. On the contrary, all I get from it is warmth and kindness despite its alarming form.

"Who have we here?" By her speech and voice I can tell it's a woman; not to mention that whatever isn't covered by the outer shell of her monstrous appearance seems to be a very feminine set of lips and chin.

Because of how dumbfounded I am, the supervisor sees fit to answer for me. "Her name's Reina Amaro and we want to see if what she holds is Innocence."

"Very well," she spoke in a lethargic voice. "Then I shall inspect her now. Please, child, do not fear for I wish to do you no harm."

It's hard to swallow the words that she throws at me. And they slowly process as I feel the wisps of her limbs brushing against me. There's a little bit of struggle until they begin to wrap around my body. The instant they do there's a warmth that starts flowing into me and soothes me, almost like a mother's lullaby. This makes it easier for her to wrap more around me to lift me up in the air towards her face. But I don't make a move; it's almost like I'm drugged.

_What's happening to me?_

"Heaven's Touch...you possess it." She speaks that name again and I know then that it is true.

_I have Innocence in me._

"What's her synchronization rate, Hevlaska?" someone asks but I'm too out of it to remember who it is.

She lifts me closer to her and our foreheads touch. The moment they do the burning feeling concentrates there and my head starts hurting mildly. When I start squirming about, Hevlaska reminds me to remain calm and that helps me a little.

"Eight percent…twenty-six percent…thirty-seven percent…forty-nine percent…sixty-eight percent." She stops counting there and takes a breath before she separates me from her forehead. The burning sensation dies and the lukewarmth feeling spreads again all throughout my body. "Her synchro rate is of 68%."

"Not too shabby for a kid who's barely learned to activate their Innocence," someone says but again I can't tell who.

"Thank you for your patience, child," she says and gently puts me down onto the elevator. I'm still a little disoriented and my knees buckle underneath me to make me sit before the grand woman that stands brilliantly over us. Someone comes over to me and asks me if I'm okay but I'm still too lost in my mind and the feelings I just felt.

"Child, how old are you?" she asks me.

My body and mind are so sluggish that it takes me a few seconds realize she asked me something. "Twenty—"

_That's right. I've been here over a year now._

"I turned twenty-one…recently."

There's silence before she speaks again. "That your body has stunted its growth is also due to the powers of Heaven's Touch."

"Heaven's…?" I ask.

She makes a motion akin to a nod and continues her explanation. "Amongst all the Innocence that have been recorded of, Heaven's Touch is one of the few that possess no offensive attributes. It's duty, however, has always been that of the protector. It not only will always protect its accommodator from all and any harm but it can also heal those you touch as well as heal yourself. But all comes with a cost."

That made sense; it was exactly what I had deduced so far about these strange powers of mine. I can heal myself and others but always at the cost of mine or their wellbeing. My bubble, too, it protects me for as much as I can give it energy.

"Thank you, Hev," the supervisor says.

But she wasn't anywhere near done, it seemed.

"Hear me now that you can, foreteller."

At the call of this this name, clarity comes to my mind and I can finally hear. The one standing beside me who helps me up is the supervisor who also turns to Hevlaska at her sudden outburst. Not only him but everyone present, especially Cross, have their eyes on her and ears open to hear what she has to say.

"The outcome you know cannot be changed. However the paths that lead to it are all open and are all possible. If you follow your heart then Heaven's Touch will follow wordlessly so long as your conviction stands strong to protect those you cherish. And when the time comes you will have to choose which to safeguard and which to destroy: the light or the darkness. But know that neither can be destroyed without the other suffering loss as well. Your choices all have been written for you but only you shall choose which to follow. The only words of warning I have are these: just because you can—"

"Doesn't mean I should," I end with a whisper knowing well that saying.

"Lucky, aren't you?" Supervisor Komui speaks bringing me back to them and the now. "Hevlaska's prophecies are mighty accurate too."

"Is that enough proof for you, Inspector?" Cross asks, and that makes me turn over to the whole group.

Inspector Dick has this permanent frown that only deepens at Cross' obvious taunt. It seems he had opted for me being a traitor and exploiting me for information about the Noah.

_Tough luck, Dick. I know as much as you do which is shit._

"You have given enough proof of her being an Exorcist," he admits. "But she is not be trusted as of now."

"Shouldn't the little woman be given the change to cohabit with her fellow Exorcists?" Cross asks, and I can tell that Inspector Dick is about to protest about it but the others, with the exception of Taco Bell Guy, seem to agree with him.

Seeing as he was greatly outnumbered, the Inspector seems to agree but I'm to be confined for the time being in a room until further notice. The supervisor is the only one to object but since the Generals see no need to argue further it all ends there.

Once we get up to where we boarded, I jump out at the chance of firm ground. The Inspector and the Generals scatter, Cross not surprisingly is escorted by guards and a couple take me to a room that's to be mine from now on. They toss me inside without a word and don't lock the door but when I peek outside they're there standing guard.

I slam the door behind them and hope it scares them before checking out the room they gave me. It's scarce with only a bed and a dresser for clothes but it's much better than the crummy old cell they gave me before.

_It's fine. I can make do with this._

And although I'm being imprisoned against my will they at least have the guts to call me a prisoner for the time being. A couple more days pass by where I'm guarded twenty-four/seven. When I have to go eat, they always accompany me and even when I have to go do _other_ things too and that just bothers me to no end.

The evening of the second day is the one that I barely come out of the room. I had breakfast and lunch and it had been a disaster trying to eat in peace with the two guys around me. It's hard to get anybody to eat with me with them hanging all around my business. And it seems I'm not the only one getting harassed because Allen seems to have gotten his own personal supervisor too.

The morning before he had tried to come and eat breakfast with me but both of our patrols told us that we were prohibited to speak to one another. This struck me as weird because the other Exorcists were allowed, and some took up to that chance including Lavi, Lenalee, and Miranda. Everybody and their mother was allowed to speak to me except for Allen and that irked me. They didn't want us to talk to each other because we had something in common. I can't remember exactly why Allen's being supervised—nobody mentions a reason and I can't remember anything precise from the manga either so I'm left out in the open about that.

Rumors too seem to be spreading about Allen and myself and about a lot of other things. Rumors are only sick things that others start out of spite so I dismiss them quickly but they don't seem to go away. Damn, it's like high school all over again.

Those are the basic reasons why I stayed behind tonight and decide to skip out on dinner. They've given me clothes to wear too and today I opted for a dark blue skirt and a sleeveless white blouse to tuck into it. Over it, I'm just wearing a neat coat that ends on my hips when I button it and slip on shoes with black stockings on. Over all, it's nice and the clothes aren't shabby at all. The tendencies that I got about dressing well with the Kamelot's seem to have stuck though; I'm dressed and my hair, having grown so long, is tied to the side with a side braid.

These past two days have given me some time to think about the universe I've gotten myself stuck in. Well, technically I was _shoved_ into this so it's not my fault.

_But you wished for this. You wanted to come._

And it hurts to admit that my brain is right. I remember that wish completely now. When the weight of the world and the courts were on my shoulders, I was a very sad little girl that indulged herself into books and the likes. And the one that made most of my world then was this exact one that I'm stuck in now.

And at the moment, I'm trying to remember the plot yet again. It's hard especially because my memories are very fuzzy during those two years. But I keep trying regardless of that and just keep on getting terrible headaches.

It's while I'm trying to get rid of one such ailment that a sudden pain comes to my gut. It's a bad feeling like the ones I kept getting on the Ark during the fights. And this is just as bad as the one minutes before Tyki transformed.

_Something bad's going to happen, Reina._

Yeah, and I need to remember what.

"Come on, brain; work with me here!" I groan under my breath and walk up to the wall to begin hitting my forehead against it. But no matter how much pain I come to, the memories won't come. My headaches are worse, in fact, and that makes it that much more difficult.

The sudden earthquake that hits though shakes everything including the contents of my brain. I grab onto the wall and try to keep myself up but the lights above my head aren't as lucky. They fall and the glass breaks leaving the whole room in darkness. For me it's not hard to walk around since I've memorized the layout of the room but the instant that tremor hit, something came to my mind.

 _After the Ark, there's little reprieve for them. The Order_ —

"It gets attacked by Lulubell."

That's right. Lulubell is charged with retrieving something—the Akuma plant. She's here for the plant in the 5th laboratory. And in the midst of her attack…many will die.

_I can't let that happen._

I won't let it happen.

So instead of waiting around here, I go to the door quickly and map out the Order in my head just in case I need to run. When I burst the door wide open though, there's no need for me to hurry because the guards have left their post. Instead everyone seems to be in a rush towards the same place I remember being attacked. But they're going the wrong way.

_It's blocked._

It's strange that I'm remembering these things effortlessly now when I'm not even thinking about them. But I put little attention to that and instead head towards where they had the Ark's Gate as fast as I can. There's a multitude of people rampaging about the Order. Nurses and other staff are like headless chickens trying to find a way to help and the messages from various tiny birds keep coming to my ears.

The Order has been invaded and there's been an attack on the 5th lab. Two Exorcists were already on the scene; that, no doubt, had to be Allen and Bookman. I don't know why but they pop into my head like nothing and I'm sure that's who they're referring to. They call Miranda and some Noise Marie by name to head to the Ark Gate immediately. They also call for the Generals and all available Exorcists.

_That includes me then._

If they ask, I can loophole through them with that. With that new determination, I keep running and it seems to take me forever to reach the Gate. It isn't helping that there's so much panic going around the place but I try my best to tune it out and keep my goal in mind. Right now my sole priority is to keep people from dying meaninglessly. I don't want more people to die than already have.

_I'm not letting that happen again._

And I won't. By the time I reach the part of the science division that has the Gate, I'm winded from the running. Because the layout was huge and the crowd didn't make it any better, it took me a while to get to it. While I'm resting a little to catch my breath, I can see that the Generals plus Miranda and the Marie guy are already there but they don't stay for long. They quickly enter through and I'm sure now they're helping on the other side.

_I need to hurry, too._

So I run towards it with every intent to go in…until someone stops me.

"No, you shouldn't go in there." When I turn to face whoever stopped me, I come face to face with the supervisor again and he looks tired as hell. Not tired as in physically but I can see something completely different weighing him down. But I have no time for sympathy right now.

"You have to let me! That Hevlaska said it herself, Heaven's Touch is meant to protect others. And I don't want people to die in vain there!" I yell at him despite so many people already there overhearing. "Please, Supervisor Komui, let me help them! I must…"

The grip on my arm slowly loosens until he lets go completely. When he does he simply nods and tells me to be careful. I tell him I will be before I jump right in and join. The Gate to the 5th lab takes me directly to a platform where the Akuma plant is on. The Generals have already gone out starting their work on exterminating the astounding amount of Akuma there are here.

And if what I'm remembering right now isn't false, all the Akuma here are Level 3s. Much higher up in power but nothing, apparently, that the Generals can't compete with. So when I see that they're fine handling this, I head out towards where Allen went to help with the scientists that are still out and in danger.

Getting some footing on Embracing Garden, I go out to follow after Allen. As I step onto solid ground and start running towards them, I catch one of the Level 3s that didn't form one of those gigantic monsters come my way. It attacks me but like Hevlaska said Heaven's Touch doesn't miss a heartbeat and bursts out from beneath me when it gets to close. The punch it gives does throw the glass sphere out towards the west wall and it crashes loudly. Although it doesn't hurt much, it still left a ringing in my ears.

It rushes towards me when I'm barely getting my footing again but this time I stand my ground. It cusses at me and keeps on punching the glass that doesn't break. But I'm starting to feel the hits though.

_I'm starting to wipe out._

I have to get him off me.

"Reina!" Allen's call catches me by surprise and I'm stounded when I see him go through the Akuma like nothing with his Sword of Exorcism. "Are you all right?"

"Y-Yeah," I tell him.

"You shouldn't be here!" he calls out with great concern.

And damn does that make me feel bad; I'm being more useless here than roadkill. But I quickly shake my head at him and try something different. "I'm one of you too, remember? I want to do something here to help too. Take me to the scientists. I can help you guard them and take them to where that garden is."

Something in his eyes glints before he smiles and nods. At that, I dispel the bubble with only a thought in my head and it bursts out. Allen takes me by the wrist and pulls me closer before he jumps hoops and whatnot with his Crown Clown to get us to where the scientists are. The moment we get there a thick gas is enveloping the whole place and the people inhaling it are hacking like madmen.

"What's the matter?" I ask, not understanding.

"The gas is from the Akuma," Allen explains briefly. "It's harmful to normal humans."

_Normal. Sounds like he's not counting himself in…or me._

"You need to cover your mouths and noses," the old man, Bookman, was here already and is telling the few scientists that are here that. The gas doesn't seem to be doing anything to me though.

_Think, Reina. Be of some goddamn help._

We need to get them somewhere safe where there's no gas. Or at least get rid of it so they can breathe. My hand reaches out before me with my palm out as a thought comes to my mind. It takes a little of concentration but I manage to make a small bubble the size of my palm that sits there. It's hard on the outside but I can easily pry my fingers in without bursting it.

"Reina?"

"I think I can help with the air," I say, and reach my arm out so it's closer to everyone. "Huddle closer!" I call and they do as I say. Just when they get as close as they can, I focus on the tiny bubble in my hand and try to shape it out as I will it.

_Expand and let them in. Nothing else._

And it listens. The bubble in my hand begins to blow out and the people around are let in. But as the sphere expands the glass walls on the outside push the gas out of the way to leave way to clean air. Once it's big enough it stops growing and all the people in it are able to breathe gasless air.

"Thank you," one of them says and the rest follow suit with their gratitude.

I'm about to tell them that it's really nothing but I'm struck by something. It's another gut feeling like the one from before. And with it another memory comes to me. The attack…after the generals comes, Lulubell interferes. And the shield she uses, it's—

"Miranda."

"What about Miranda, Reina?" Allen asks, seemingly taken aback by my words.

"She's in trouble. Lulubell's—"

Allen's sight is caught by something up above and when I follow it, I see what I dreaded and knew would happen. "Miranda!"

A thought flutters in my brain for an instant but a very familiar voice quiets it quickly.

" _Don't act rashly, Reina."_ It's _him._ But this time the voice isn't disembodied. This time it's coming from somewhere; it's coming from Allen's shadow. _"You'll be treading the winds of a butterfly now, and the decisions you make without the appropriate knowledge could result in grim ends."_

But I can't let you or anything else chain me down. If I keep being scared of a future that I'm supposed to know, I'll always be stuck here in the present. I won't move on. And I can't have that. I need to keep moving forth.

"The Noah is back," the chief says now able to breathe better. "Don't worry about us. Go help them!"

"Yes!" Allen calls and gets ready to leave but before he can, I manage to grab ahold of his arm. "Reina?"

"Take me with you."

"What? B-But the bubble—"

"It'll stay." The moment those words are out of my mouth, the warmth that I could feel from the soles of my feet disappears and I feel the heaviness of the sphere fall onto the concrete floor. "And if they want to leave it, they can. But take me with you, Allen."

"I can't," he says with concern etched on his face. "It's too dangerous—"

"Which is exactly why you should take me with you!" I yell. "Miranda needs us. We need to get her back from Lulubell. We can't let her die."

"We won't," he says, determined.

"Then take me with you."

He stares at my eyes for a second before nodding and taking my arm to haul me over his back. "Hold on." It's the only warning I need and hold on tightly to his shoulders seconds before he shoots off. Stepping on falling debris and fallen pillars, he dashes at incredible speeds towards the sinking egg. My sight is at the attack the Generals had simultaneously launched with the clear intent to destroy the egg before it sinks back in.

But my attention quickly changes though when Allen and I dive directly into the Gate of the Earl's Ark. The instant we're inside it's like we just dove into thick murky water. Despite the heavy feeling though the water is clear when I open my eyes but I have to hold my breath from the pressure. Allen effortlessly dives deeper to where Miranda is sinking unconsciously before grabbing her in his arms.

He sinks into one of the huge cracks of the egg and spreads Crown Clown into it. The cracks begin to grow bigger as the cloak expands inside. The pressure it creates is so big that the egg eventually bursts and breaks completely.

I can feel as Allen propels himself from what remains of the egg but before he can head to the closing gate something grasps his ankle. My body turns around to see that Lulubell's furious and she's not letting Allen get away with what he's done.

_But I'm not letting her do this._

Using another bubble that bursts from my hand, I let it envelope Allen and Miranda but leave me out of it as another swallows me to protect me from Lulubell's attacks. For a brief moment, I glance back to watch as the sphere I created to guard them floats to the surface and breaks through. The last thing I see before the gate closes is Allen's hand trying to reach for me. But I don't heed it and instead smile just as it closes.

"You! You insolent human!" Lulubell rants off in sheer madness.

"Aw, is kitty cat mad?" I taunt aloud. It takes me a little by surprise that I can talk but I don't think much of it. Instead I concentrate on keeping my shield up as her arms, now whips, wrap around the sphere and begin to tightly squeeze it. The glass begins to crack the further we go in too because of the increasing pressure as we go through the Gate.

I can only last for a few minutes before I hear it crack but instead of feeling like I'm falling through murky water, I hit solid ground hard. When I do, I start hacking and wheezing not only from the feeling of drowning I got just now but also from the stress that broken shield caused me.

"You bastard human!"

That's all the warning I get before Lulubell starts striking me with her whips. I hold my arms over my head to keep it from harm and instead give her my back as a target. The lashes she gives burn my back and I can feel how they rip through my clothes and break my skin. I scream at every one of them as they don't cease but only become harder. She's cussing and reveling in this torture of hers but I can't stop her. Making and leaving those shields, and the one that broke just now has weakened me too much. My body's shaking not from the pain but from the gelidness I start to feel.

_I'm cold._

"Stop Lulubell!"

The voice that calls for her to halt goes over my ears that are ringing so loudly from the whistling of the whip.

"It interfered with the egg's retrieval. It deserves to die!" Lulubell's rage doesn't go over me though.

"You shall leave her as she is," the girl's voice speaks again. "And leave us."

"But—"

"Are you really going to go against me?"

There's a deadly silence that sinks. Something roars loudly before loud pawing leaves in a hurry the room we're in. Finally I can breathe but every time I take a breath my back aches and stings. Footsteps echo in my ears as someone approaches me. Whoever it is, their silhouette is blurry and I can't really make out who they are.

"You're lucky I didn't just leave her to gnaw on your bones."

"W-Why didn't you…?" I ask through short and shallow breathes.

The small, wry smile that I manage to see tells me who this is; it's Road. "I can put your measly life to some better use." She grabs me by the wrist and pulls me up to stand up. Because of the difference in heights, she's having a little trouble handling me but the moment I touch her skin, warmth starts to course slowly through my body giving me some strength back. "Can you walk now?"

"Some…what."

"That'll be good enough." She takes me by the wrist and drags me behind her. Because I'm still very delirious, I can't really put much attention to where she's taking me. All I notice is that it takes us a few minutes to get to where she takes me. I hear the noise of a door open before we walk in and it closes behind us.

Road let's go of my wrist and the instant she does my legs buckle beneath me and I fall to a sit. A sharp pain comes to my legs that same instant. My eyes go down to the floor and my hands reach down to the glinting pieces of glass on the floor. I grab a piece in my fingers and notice that it's very sharp; it came from a bigger pane being burst and broken.

A guttural sound, almost animalistic, takes my attention. The room we're in is dark and it takes some time for my eyes to adjust to it. It's bare to what I can see. There's no furniture anywhere near us and only open windows let in the hue of dawn and the gelid wind from outside come in.

_Not open, broken._

My eyes finally see clearly and I see that the windows are actually broken which is how the faint light and breeze are coming in. That also explains the mounds of glass lying about all over the floor. The guttural sounds comes again to my ears and this time I can see something amidst the shadows. It's a figure; someone's there at the corner, huddled and holding at their head while making those most animalistic sounds.

"It's Tyki."

Those words make my senses fire all at once and make me more alert than I've ever been.

_Tyki…? But how!?_

"What's wrong with him…?"

"He's trying to fight the Noah memory inside him. He's been at it for five days now; a desperate attempt to cling to his humanity," Road explains and squats beside me. "But he was left too damaged from the battle in the Ark to do much. At this rate, if he can't heal his damaged psyche the Noah will overtake him and the man we know as Tyki Mikk will cease to exist."

_No._

As I watch him, I can tell that it's painful. His head is buried between his knees and his hand ravaged against his head trying to fight a battle that physical strength will do him no good in. But he's trying; he doesn't want to let go of his humanity. If what Road said is true, he's been at it for five days already trying to hold on. Trying to fight what's threatening to take over him.

_And Tyki's…fighting all by himself._

I can't have that. There's no way I'm letting him fight this alone. Before I can think anything about it, I get up on my feet and run over to kneel before the man I once knew. He seems startled by my sudden appearance and it shows when he retracts back. It's almost like he's a wounded animal.

"Tyki?" I whisper not wanting to scare him anymore. There's no response from him though. "Tyki, it's me…Reina."

Again, there's no response from him. My hands that are against my chest feeling the rapid beating of my heart, reach out towards him. He flinches a little and I flinch back but continue reaching out for him. My hands touch his shoulders and I try my best to pull him towards me. It's like trying to move a rock statue but in the end I manage to move him from his position. With a crawl, I get him to stand up and notice for the first time that his hair's longer. The waves cascade around his face hiding it from me and it's strange to see him so hidden like that.

My hands move from his shoulders and reach out to his face. I move the strands from it and I'm shocked at what stares back; those vibrant golden pools I once saw are now vacant and soulless.

_He's lost._

I don't want that. A grimace comes to me and my hands reach out towards his head and my fingers tangle in his hair as I slowly bring his head down to my shoulder. He bends low and I'm on the tip of my toes but I want him as close to me as possible. This moment I feel like I can finally be something that he's been for me time and time again, an anchor.

I've healed others before, even Jasdevi and the other Exorcists, and it's worked perfectly. Those were superficial wounds though and it scares me that I won't be able to heal Tyki. It scares me in a level I can't begin to comprehend. The mere thought of not having him anymore…breaks me. I don't want him to leave.

If there's one person I want to protect, it's him, the one that's done the same.

Yeah, he's a jerk, an asshole, and everything else that's worse than a sick fuck but he's mine. He's my friend, he's my family, and he's come to mean much, _much_ more than I'll ever admit out loud. Tyki's come to mean so much and that realization hits me now when I can lose him.

I can't lose him now. I _don't_ want to lose him.

 _Please, Heaven's Touch or whatever you are, help him. Heal him. Don't let God take him away from me. I'll give_ anything _and_ everything _just…don't let him go. Heal Tyki, please._

" _Cura esta vida mía_ _."_

When I say those words as nothing above a whisper, a tremendous heat begins to build in my body. It's painful the way it burns in me, almost like flames licking underneath my skin. And it seems I'm not the only one to feel it because Tyki's hands wrap around me and his nails start digging deep onto my exposed back. The pain they cause isn't anything close to the fire that's pooling in me though. Just when I feel like I'll melt from the inside, the hellfire starts to move like molten lava through my veins and towards my hands. Not only my hands but to all the places where my skin touches his. The fire in my veins starts to leave and courses through to him within seconds.

It doesn't take long before the burning feeling disappears. When it does, the painful hold on my back lessens and the head I'm holding so close starts to move. Tyki brings his head back a tiny bit to stare into my eyes and what I see in them now brings ease to my hazy mind and a wry smile to my lips.

_There you are._

"Welcome…back," I breathe shallowly.

"Rei…na?"

The way I hear him say my name, with so much concern, overjoys me. But at the same instant, a gelidness goes over me that I can't explain. It's almost like I just got dumped into a pool of nothing but ice. It's hard to breath and my mind's going numb fast. My vision blurs and I hear what I believe is my name muffled for one last time before everything just goes away.

* * *

When I wake up, I'm startled awake and my breathing's shallow. I can even feel my heartbeat going rampant in my ribcage. My whole body aches and I don't want to move an inch from how much it hurts. What my eyes see above me as they finally adjust is nothing but a white ceiling and I get a slight sense of déjà vu.

When I try to move my hands it seems almost like they're not mine and I'm only moving some phantom limbs. But then I manage to grasp something and I grab it tightly in my fist.

"Reina?"

The voice sounds distant and muffled. It's deep though and a single thought comes to mind.

_He's safe. I did it._

Tyki's all right.

I try calling out for him but something impedes me from speaking. Actually when I try speaking, my gag reflexes start going and I want to puke because of the thing that's stuck down my throat.

"R-Reina, calm down! You're going to choke!"

I don't listen though and I keep trying to speak and continue to gag in reflex. A couple of what I feel are gloved hands go quickly to work and take out what seems to be a tube from my throat. When it's out, I manage to sit my upper body up slightly to hack at my side.

A hand comes to my back and starts rubbing it, soothingly. Once I'm done with that, I turn and call out to him.

"Ty—"

But my voice dies quickly when I stare into honey-colored sheens. My sight adjusts completely then and my mind cries out at seeing Jaden. My eyes dart all around and see that I'm in a hospital room full with machines that are hooked up to me.

_No. This can't be._

Without turning to face him, my hand fumbles over the I.V. needle that's stuck up my arm and yank it out before I start jabbing it at my leg. He yells for me to stop but I'm faster than he is.

_This can't be. Road. It has to be Road's dream. Wake up, Reina, wake up!_

But no matter how much I stab at myself, the pain's there. The blood comes out and Jaden's holding my hand back as the nurses and doctors come into the room to hold me down. They start to do something but I pay no attention to them. The pain that's coursing through my chest and head are much worse than I could ever cause to myself.

_This isn't a dream._

When that single fact finally sinks in, I can do nothing but cry. The warm tears that pour down my face continue and my heart wrenches. There's no joy nor happiness in me when it sinks in. There's only this deep sense of despair and the greatest loneliness I've ever known.

_It's real._

_I'm back._

And that single thought just makes me weep even harder as I hear something in me shatter into pieces.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Twenty** _

**Stages**

* * *

A numb week goes by without me noticing much of it.

I stay back in the hospital for the duration of it; the doctors want to do some more tests on me to make sure that my brain and other injuries from the accident are in a decent condition. According to my primary doctor, it's a mystery what had happened to me but she only gave me the medical reason. Jaden gave me the Cliffnotes' version.

Six months.

I'd been in a coma for six months after the accident I had in my truck. Jaden told me that the day it happened an elderly couple saw everything as it unfolded outside their home. They saw how my truck swerved out of the street and flipped into the forest. The ones that had called the ambulance had been them and that by the time any help arrived I was already unconscious. He told me I had woken up briefly a few hours the night I was brought in and I think I vaguely remember that day. Most of what I recall of it is Kat's voice and the annoying beeping.

He said that after I flat-lined that night, I had entered a comatose state. What surprised the doctors that saw me was that they couldn't find an explanation for my body going into a coma. My accident did cause some damage to my brain, a little swelling, but nothing drastic enough to shut me down like that. They waited until the swelling went down a couple of weeks later and redid all the tests. Again, nothing was wrong with me, brain or body. My physical injuries had healed surprisingly fast as had the swelling but they didn't understand the cause of it. And now they were just as intrigued about my awakening as they were about my slumbering state. But by the end of the week they still had no explanation as to why I had woken from my coma without a sign of improvement beforehand. It's not like it wasn't possible just…unexpected in my case.

So in the end they opted to give credit to the bastard upstairs instead and called it a miracle.

_I dare say I disagree._

My parents—whom I didn't see until the morning after—didn't seem to care what they called it; they were just ecstatic to see me awake again. Mom cried at my bedside while I patted her head. Dad hugged me till I swore I heard my ribs crack. Jaden watched from the background with a tranquil smile on his face. It was this past Friday that they brought Kathleen to see me. She cried the moment she saw me awake and ran to climb on the bed.

The nurses reprimanded my parents for letting her run wild like that on a patient but I waved it off saying that it was fine. Kat said she missed me while crying on my shoulder and I held her close to me assuring her I was here.

And assuring myself too.

For some reason, I kept thinking that this was some kind of sick joke that Road had put me into. But as the week went by and I saw more of my family, I began to notice that I wasn't.

_This is real._

And it left me feeling emptier than I've ever been. Even more so than how I felt before.

Back then—before this whole _dream_ happened—what had filled this void was seeing Kat's smile and Jaden's love for me. But now...it feels like I had put them up in a pedestal they didn't belong in. I still smile vaguely because Kat still makes me happy as did seeing my family but they don't fill my emptiness quite so anymore. Nothing would when I had found something that did completely and utterly.

_Forget about it, Reina. It was just a dream._

Was it? I can't tell anymore. Everything there had been so tangible, so vivid. Perhaps it could be that I was hyper-projecting my needs during my coma but then again there was one thing that told me otherwise.

Wounds. Or more precisely one.

The injury I had on my right thigh was there; the same large gaping hole was bandaged by the nurses but when I saw it the first time they changed them, I was stunned at seeing it. I don't remember being pierced by anything during the accident but when I ask the others, they never told me otherwise. They all claimed that I had gotten it in the accident.

Or maybe I'm just going crazy.

Today is Sunday, and today is the day I go back home. The date itself threw me off quite a lot, to be honest. My whole sense of time is off by six months. If I remember correctly, in that other place April had just come around the corner and I was twenty-one already. But here I'm still twenty and it's October.

In the tiny patient room the doctor examines me for one last time while my family waits outside. She tells me that I would have to come to therapy for a few weeks to regain a sense of my muscles. They had worked some therapy on me when I was in a coma, it seems, but she said it wouldn't be enough. That meant that I would have a hard time walking for a few weeks. She also gives me medicine for pain and tells me about what they had done to me when I entered the hospital to treat me and what could be reversed from it. The one thing she focuses on is that they had to ween me off any sort of medication or treatment that I had been on when I was taken in. Aside from some antidepressants that I had been taking before, she also mentions that during my stay they had to remove my implant after a few days in but that they would replace it if I wanted to.

"No," is all I tell her. "I'm fine without it."

With that taken care of she formally discharges me and my family takes me back home. It is unbelievable how pampered they're making me. It's not really surprising from Jaden but my parents decide to skip work and decide to spend the whole day with us three. Kat's overjoyed and Jade's all smiles and laughs.

It really is good to finally have something like this with them but…it still feels weird. And it's me who's making it like that.

Every time I look at Kat an image of Road comes to mind and although I try pushing it away, it keeps coming back. And Jaden…I can't even look him straight in the face anymore. Every time he tries making chitchat with me, I quickly shut him down and end it there to include everyone else. I do it; unconsciously or not, but I do it, and it's odd because I don't want to speak to him.

_Come on, Reina. Just get over it._

But it's hard. The day comes to an end and I'm left to rest in my room. All the while, I can't help but glance around the tiny place and wonder how different it looks now. After having traveled so much to so many different places, having seen so many different things and met such unique people, it's hard to come back to this simplicity and accept it as it is.

So I just lay there trying to convince myself that it was all just a dream and that I'll never be going back to it. But that just makes me cry myself to sleep hearing that harsh truth.

* * *

The weeks that come along are monotonous. Because of their work my parents can't really take that much time off and it's something I understand. They do tell me that if there's anything I need when no one's around then I can call them. For anything. They were very explicit about that.

Although I'm pretty sure they know the reason I ran away from the house the day of the accident, I notice that neither of them bring it up. And I'm pretty sure that Jaden must have told them too. After all, how could he keep quiet about me enlisting for the Navy—Seb's and Ger's old unit, no less—and leaving the night I had the accident. And even though I'm positive they know, they don't ask why I never told anybody nor why I enlisted. Frankly, I think they want to ask but after what happened they don't really care anymore.

_They got their daughter back so I guess they're happy with knowing that and leaving the rest to die out quietly._

So the days are quiet and simple for me. Jaden apparently dissed his school for the year and got a part-time job close to home. Everybody finds it convenient now since he's able to come home earlier than anyone and take care of me. Everyone does except me.

I can't stomach being close to him anymore. It twists me inside to see him and think of someone else. Jaden's sweet and nice and everything he says and does is for others. That's who he is. But that's a façade I've come to abhor now. It's fake, of that much I am sure. He's kind, true, but his goals are as clear as day now. He just wants me to be like I was before and for us to be what we were before.

But I can't go back to that. I feel empty now with him. All that love I felt that I thought was immeasurable is now nothing compared to what actually filled the void in me.

_Nothing can replace what Tyki's showed me._

Even though it was imprudent and very rash, his emotions were raw despite not exactly knowing what they were myself. But they felt the same as mine; it felt like they were screaming for something that he desperately needed. I understood that feeling. And it was actually with him that the emptiness went away; it was because I understood that it felt comfortable to be with someone that had it too.

And now it's gone— _he's gone—_ and I'm back to being empty.

_He…_

Those lingering thoughts bring me back to myself as I sit in my bed just spacing out. Jaden's out—still at work—Mom and Dad are at work as well, Kat's in school and I'm left alone in this two-story house. But it's nice being alone for once, actually. There's no one nagging me about being careful doing simple things like cleaning or washing dishes or cooking. It's odd but after this incident I wasn't expecting them to be so…overprotective. Worried, maybe, but not this over the top. They treat me like a child—a fragile little thing that they didn't want to force. But these few hours I have by myself are actually the calmest I've had in a long while.

Two hours and I had managed to rearrange my room differently. My bed was now near the window, and since my room was the attic—my special choice when I got to choose the day we moved in—I got a perfect view of the houses across the neighborhood. And now that I had more space for activities, I gather my laptop and go do some research.

It's been already about two weeks and I still haven't looked at the story I had so fervently dreamt about. But better late than never, I suppose. It doesn't take much to find the pages with D. Gray-Man and much less to find sites to read the manga or watch the anime. Since the show's much too long, I decide to read it first since it'll be faster. And it's as I'm reading it that all begins to come back to me. I get the feeling that I've actually read this before and have a sense of what's going on. Since it focuses on Allen, I get to see what the kid did from the beginning. From his beginnings as an exorcist and his first mission in Mater to his adventures in Krory's castle. It's after that mission that I recognize the scene that follows.

It's Allen, Lavi, and Krory's meeting with Tyki, Momo, Clark, and Eeze. Although measly drawn, it captures the group that I was with perfectly. And despite myself, I begin to remember those simpler days when I lived with them and the amazing things that I did with them.

But that's not the only one that I recognize. There's plenty after that one that begin to ring a bell as well. The events in China, the attack in Edo, and the ones from the Ark are all very much familiar from the dream. They're pretty recent and carved into my memory because of it. But as I continue to read, it's quite impressive where the story's going. I note that the moment the dream ended, when I helped Allen with Miranda's rescue, they weren't anywhere near done. It actually got even worse because a Level Four appeared in the Order. It destroyed everything in its path and killed so many. And that's only the ones that were shown in the manga. Who knows how many more died before Lenalee, Allen, and Cross stopped it.

After that came some things that were hard to swallow. Allen's suspicion and Cross' disappearance where very much among them. Mostly the fact that Allen had a Noah by the name of the Fourteenth in him, or more like his memories implanted in him. It's a weird concept really but interesting. I see why I used to like it. And yet nothing brought the little fellow down; he kept going. He went through and got a new exorcist in, and even went through the whole ordeal with Kanda and Alma which was a whole tragedy in and of itself. Things just kept getting worse and worse for him. Tyki and Road go save him and Road disappears after being injured by Apocryphos, that bastard. And he's on the run. Not only that but it also seems like something's up with the Earl.

_Things are just more complicated and screwed up the further I read on._

And the last two chapters—the newest ones since her three year hiatus—are the worst mind fucks ever.

Speaking of mind fucks, the thing about the _dream_ not possibly being one still bothered me. I remember clearly the voice calling the two places differently—"my world and theirs" or something to that extent. So I begin to research on things like 'different worlds' or 'separate universes.' The latter's the one that gives me some interesting results. Things like multiverse comes up which makes some sense but not enough to convince me quite so. Others pop up too but they do the same as the multiverse theory; they sound convincing but too convenient as well.

_It can't be that easy._

But maybe I'm just tripping out as usual.

Nonetheless, the ideas are still jumping around in my head during the couple of weeks that come. I take my time reading the manga a couple of times and then, when no one's home, I take to watching the anime itself as well in my spare time. So many things resonate with me each time I see them but I can't help but think that it really was just a dream. The weeks go by and soon October becomes closer to the middle of November.

It's a particular morning when my whole family wakes me up in the morning.

"Happy twenty-first Birthday, Reina!"

The cheers deafen me when I'm so groggy still and it takes some time for me to recognize what day it is. They tell me to finish waking up and come downstairs for my special breakfast and leave my room. My hand reaches out to the bed stand beside me for my phone and read the date with blurry sight.

November 13th, Friday. 7:03 a.m.

_That's right. It's my birthday today._

I'm twenty-one today, and of age. A sigh comes over me along with a small smile. I'm happy that their so enthusiastic about it, really, but did they have to wake me up so early in the damn morning? Shaking that dumb thought out of my head, I clean myself up in the bathroom in the second floor before going down to the dining table for breakfast.

Pancakes and some ice scream. Gotta love birthday breakfast. Picking the cinnamon out of the pantry, I sprinkle some over the syrup. I take my sit between Kat and Mom and we start our breakfast. Idle chatter goes about the table and it eases my nerves a little. I've been way too wound up this past month. Trying to get used to being back has been hard but they've been nothing but supportive, just like they were when I first came here.

They haven't change one bit.

_But you have._

I can't argue with you on that one, brain. But as much as it pains me that I can't feel comfortable here anymore, I fake my way through it and enjoy the little peace I can. Soon, though, my parents say that they need to leave out for work and they take Kat with them to go to school as well. We pick up quickly after ourselves. Kat talks in short sentences and in rapid fire but I get a few of them as we clean. She says she has a present for me and that she'll give it to me when she comes back from school. I tell her I can't wait and that just makes her giddy and makes me smile a little. We finish quickly enough and soon they leave, leaving Jaden and I behind in the house.

He tells me he'll clean the dishes to let me shower and I accept his offer. The cold water helps me wake up completely and I welcome the refreshing feeling. As I shower, I notice that my legs aren't as weak as they were about a month ago. My body doesn't ache as much either but I still feel a warmth from time to time on my palms. It's really nostalgic but I try my best to brush it aside. Once out I head for my room and change into something nice. Although different the unique style from before sticks to me and I do my best to replicate it with my wardrobe here. Since it's November here in Boston, it's damn cold this time of year but not cold enough not to wear something nice like a skirt or dress. So I choose a neat long-sleeve white blouse tucked in underneath a dark green skirt. Leggings and a pair of short brown boots for my legs and feet.

When I'm done, my eyes come over to the window that now overlooks the neighborhood and notice the neighboring kids from across the street. They're out early playing around the bus stop that's near the house. They're the couple of siblings that live there if I'm not mistaken. They're so playful and carefree that they make me smile and vicariously, I remember the times when it was more than just Jade, Kat, and I. Those wonderful times when Gerard and Sebastian where still with us.

_I should probably go visit them._

It sounds like a nice thing to do actually. I didn't want to spend my day locked up anyway. With that in my head, I grab my wallet and phone and put them in a small purse that I have and grab a dark brown trench coat from my closet. I'm putting it on while coming down the attic and I'm reaching for the keys to my mom's Accord when I hear him speak.

"Where're you going?"

I grab the keys in my hand before he can say anything else and I turn to him. The first thing I notice is that he's eyeing my hand which holds the keys to the Accord and I grimace.

"Out."

"Can't it wait?" he asks, putting some things from the table back where they're supposed to be. "I don't have to work till noon. I was kind of hoping we could spend some time together… _alone_."

My grip tightens around the keys at those words. He's never been frank about anything. Jaden always taps around the issue calling it everything except what it is.

"I can't, sorry," I say bluntly and raise my hand with the keys. "I'm going out." That's all the explanation I give him before I turn to head for the door. My hand just touches the knob when he speaks again.

"What's wrong with you?" His voice is harsh but I know it's not because he's mad. He's just annoyed at my attitude; I can tell because it's the same tone he's used before too. "Why are you being so distant?"

"I'm not, Jaden. Just drop it, please," I tell him without giving him a glance.

"You're never like this, Rei. What's happened to you?"

This time I do turn and I give him a stern look. "I woke up from a six month coma, buddy. Kind of gives you time to think about stuff. You know, world hunger, global warming, the answer to life—it's forty-two, if you were wondering."

"Stop dodging the question."

"Then stop asking it." I shake my head and give out a sigh. "Look, just forget about it. I don't feel like spending time right now."

"What do you want from me then?" he asks this time raising his voice which shows that I've pushed too many buttons. "Ever since you woke up you've been avoiding me like the plague. I've tried giving you space, really, I have, but I don't want to be pushed away again like you did when you first came here."

"When I first came here, I was a little girl that was frightened of the world, Jaden. A world that didn't understand what I was going through and it was mostly because they never even tried to," I reply with the same stern voice that he's giving me. "And now's no different, it just took me a good ten years and six months out of commission to notice that."

"What are you talking about, Reina?" he asks, and this time he sounds hurt at me for saying this. "I've tried harder than anybody to get it. And even when I don't I've accepted you."

"Really?" I can't believe the amount of sarcasm that just oozed out of my voice. "Then let me ask you this. Do you blame me for what I did when I was with Noir?"

Silence. I'm staring straight at him but his gaze went from my hands to the floor and a frown comes to his face. He's confused and I can tell by the expression on his face that he's having a hard time finding an answer that won't anger me even more. But when the seconds turn to minutes, I know that he won't find it anytime soon.

So instead I turn and open the door to the garage. Before leaving though, I glance over my shoulder and say one last thing.

"I'll be back later, brother."

* * *

It's nice to see Ger and Seb after what feels like a lifetime. I buy a couple of bouquets, some red chrysanthemums, and give them to the two. I talk to them each for a few minutes telling them of what's happened these past few years. Our two older brothers died not long after I turned eighteen during their separate tours in the Navy. It was unbelievable. Two separate places and separate circumstances and although they were in the same unit they died in completely separate situations.

Gerard died trying to get the hospitalized out of the war zone when their unit was attacked.

Sebastian sacrificed himself when he rescued a family from a hostage situation.

And yet they died on the same day.

It always struck me as odd but I could never really look into their deaths. But it doesn't really matter anymore since they're gone now.

_They're not the only ones who were taken unjustly._

Standing up from Sebastian's grave and thanking him one last time for playing chess with me, I give the whole cemetery a glance. Because it's so early in the morning, there's barely anybody here and because of the cold weather, the trees all around are naked and their bark gray. The grass is still green but there're patches all around where the cold has taken its toll.

Mount Auburn is a huge cemetery. It actually lands between two big counties and is not far from Boston which is why it holds so many distinct people beneath its soil. If I remember right perhaps three different counties hold this as their go-to cemetery. It's no surprise that it's the biggest I've ever seen.

And also no surprise that Papa's grave is here as well. I knew that it's been here but…I never got the courage to come. Back when Sebastian and Gerard passed away and our parents began searching for lots for them it had been Jaden who found it. He told me the day before the two were to be buried that he'd found the grave of a 'Nicolas Javier Amaro' not far from Seb and Ger's lots.

But I didn't go near it. I haven't gone near it since I found out it's here. There was a time I wanted to come but every time the thought ever came to me it would quickly wash away when I remembered what had happened to me after his death. I wasn't the same little girl he raised and I didn't want him to see me like this.

_But you've changed from then too._

And that's exactly why I decided to go today after visiting Seb and Ger. It takes me awhile to find it and when I finally do, I come up to it with a bouquet of white lilies in hand. The tombstone wasn't very elaborate like my brothers' were but it was nice. What I hadn't expected from it though is that it actually has two names carved on the stone.

'Nicolas Javier Amaro. Beloved father and friend' and 'Teresa Magdalena Amaro. Beloved mother, wife, and friend.'

_They're both here._

I hadn't really expected to get to see both of them here together in the same grave. Nonetheless, I fall to my knees and take a sit on my legs before placing the bouquet down for both of them.

"I don't really know what to say besides…I'm sorry I'm late."

The words are out before I can stop them and I can't help myself from stopping them once they're out. My father I expected and I had braced myself for meeting him here when I had been on my way. But Mother…I never even knew anything about her.

Papa never talked about her except for the one time I asked. He said that she had passed away in an accident but that had been it. He never spoke about her, not in a good way nor in a bad way. Never in any kind of manner to remember her by. The only reason I even knew her name was because it was on my birth certificate when the O'Conners adopted me. And once Papa was gone there was no one to ask.

And now here they both are.

"I wanted to come earlier, I really did, but…it's just—I'm not the same little girl you brought to this world, Papa," I say to the air around me and simply stare down at the lilies. "I've done things you wouldn't be proud of. They're things _I'm_ not even proud of and things that I've hated about myself for a long time. But…I'm starting to understand some things clearer. I just went through a lot too but it's shown me things I've never thought I'd be able to see. Shown me things about myself differently and I think I've started to hate myself a little less now."

My hand comes up to it and my fingers run across the top of the small grave. "So, I'll keep trying to get better. And once I do, I promise I'll come visit you again, Papa. You too, mother. Next time I'll hopefully have something better to say than this."

The squeaking of wheels makes me look up from where I'm looking and find someone coming up to the grave I'm at. An old man with salt and pepper hair is being wheeled over by a woman that seems to be only some years older than myself. In his lap, he's holding a bouquet of yellow roses.

His eyes meet mine and the moment they do, he speaks up.

"And who might you be, little miss?"

* * *

Donald Strauss, aka 'Uncle Donnie', was the one that I meet at my parents' graves. He had gone to visit them because he remembered still that today was the birthday of their little girl. One that he hadn't seen since thirteen years already. But now that he met me, he's invited me to his house.

His granddaughter, Bethany—the woman that was with him at the cemetery—gives me the directions just in case and tells me to follow them back. She leads me to Uncle Donnie's house and what a nice house it is too. For a fifty-six year old retired police captain, he's not living the bad life at all.

Bethany tells me that she'll bring his grandfather out once he's done changing and leaves me at the living room. Once she's out of sight I can get a better gander at the house. The house itself reminds me of the one that Papa and I lived in and it makes me a little nostalgic but I don't have to deal with it much by the time Uncle Donnie gets here. His grand laughter gets to me and makes me turn towards the hall that Bethany rolls him out of.

"Bring me closer, Beth. I want to have a nice chat with little Reina," he says before letting out a short cough. It's a little tough to see him so weak—it's not only the wheelchair but also the fact that he's got to carry around an oxygen tank to breath because of his lung disease. But regardless of that he's as cheery as I remember him being. Never letting anything bring him down; that's definitely the Uncle Donnie I remember making me laugh with his jokes at the squad room.

Bethany rolls him over to sit beside me before asking if I wanted anything to drink. I tell her tea's fine and she tells us that she'll be back in a few with a couple of cups. Uncle Donnie turns to me and laughs again while patting my arm.

"I'm still quite surprised though; I mean, what are the chances?"

"Maybe death's been calling to you in your sleep, Uncle," I tell him jokingly and that just bursts him into another fit of laughter and coughing.

"God, that's your father's humor right there. Crude but hilarious as hell," he says, coughing. He bops me again with his large hand on my back and that makes me smile. He stares at me for a few seconds that make me feel a little odd but he shakes his head as if noticing it. "Sorry, child. But it's just that you remind me so much of both of them."

"My parents?"

He nods and a solemn smile comes to his features. There's a sadness that I recognize; I've seen it way too many times in the mirror before. "You're the spitting image of your mother, and yet you've got every ounce of your father's personality in you."

"Well, that explains why I'm such a sucker at any kind of job."

This makes him laugh again. "Oh yes, definitely hear Nico in you. I'm sure the two would be proud of how you turned out, Reina."

That hits a couple of strings in me and I can't help but whisper, "Yeah, highly doubt that." He doesn't seem to have heard me though and I'm saved because just then Bethany comes back in with a couple of mugs of tea. I grab mine and start to blow on it to cool it down but Uncle Donnie doesn't touch his. He seems pretty lost in thought until he returns to us and asks me something else.

"Did your father ever talk about your mother, Reina?"

The question is so out of the left field that I can't respond quite as quickly as I would have wanted. "N-Not that I can recall. Just that she passed away in some kind of accident."

He huffs to himself and stares at nothing as he talks. "No surprise there. Nico was pretty devastated when Teresa died in that accident. Up to what I know, he blamed himself for it happening even though it had been a drunk driver that had hit you guys."

_Drunk driver?_

"He…never said anything about a drunk driver."

"I suppose it was always hard for him to think about what happened," he says.

"Do you know what happened?"

He nods and that same melancholy comes over him again. "You were maybe just over a couple of months old when they brought you over to the office so we could meet you. The whole squad was pretty tight like a family and we all wanted to meet the chubby little angel that Nico and Teresa had. The accident happened when they were on their way back from the squad room. The report and your father stated that the drunk driver had T-boned you. He was driving while your mother sat on the back sit with you. The car hit on the side you were on and by all means the way the car was hit you should have suffered very severe injuries."

He takes his cup in his hands and takes a sip before coughing and looking at me for a second. I realize that he's waiting for me to absorb that information and it certainly is a lot. This is the first time I'm hearing all this. Papa really never said anything about this to me, but then again, I don't suppose he would have told a seven year old this. He was probably waiting for me to get older; he didn't expect for his own life to also be cut short like mother's did.

"Why am I still here then?" I ask with a whisper.

"Teresa protected you," he says with a heavy sigh. "She climbed over your babysit and covered you herself. She suffered most of the injuries; the most severe fractured her ribs which punctured her lungs. According to what the M.E. said, she drowned in her own blood before any help arrived. Nico blamed himself for falling unconscious after the crash and not being able to help her. But the doctors that examined her body said that even if he had been awake, there was no way anyone could help. All that they told him—what everybody said—was that it was a miracle you had survived with only a few scratches considering the severity of the impact."

That hits me like a ton of bricks.

_Mama died…protecting me?_

The image of Cherise comes to mind and that just makes my eyes sting. I quickly wipe at them and thank him for telling me all this. He shakes his head and strokes my back soothingly for comfort.

"I'll tell you what I told Nico. Don't blame yourselves or think that you've lost it all; we're always left with something that will carry us through. For him it was you after that accident and he devoted himself to you from that day onward like the father we knew he would be."

"He was the best father," I add with a small sob.

"And the best friend, officer, and person I ever have had the pleasure of meeting," Uncle Donnie replies. "Both him and your mother were two people that shouldn't have suffered such tragedies."

A sniffle comes out of me and I do my best to subdue my emotions for now. I can think of this later when it's sunk in better and I can think clearer. One thing does slip from my mind, though.

"I wish I could've known them better."

"They may be gone, Reina, but I'm sure the people that knew them would love to tell you about them." He takes a pause and this time he takes his hand away from me. "As a matter of a fact…" He tells Bethany to get some albums for him as he wheels himself over to grab a box of Kleenex. He passes them to me and I clean myself up until Bethany gets back with a couple of photo albums. Uncle Donnie takes the one with the red cover that's all worn out and gives me a green one that looks slightly newer.

"These were all from the time I became Captain of the narcotics unit," he explains, thumbing through the red one before stopping at one. "Your father was barely a rookie when I got in and caused plenty of trouble for us."

With this said, he goes on to tell me the stories behind each picture. Some happy, some mildly sad, but all held some meaning. The sudden gloominess from before starts to get washed away as a new emotion comes over me. It's somewhere between amazement and curiosity. What Uncle Donnie's doing—telling me all these stories about Papa—gives me an odd sensation. It's almost like I'm witnessing Papa growing up as a young man.

We finish Papa's early days in the squad and move on to the green album. Almost halfway through, we stumble across a certain picture. It's a couple of the cops from before, my Papa's partner from back then, Uncle Donnie, and a young woman that has an uncanny resemblance to me.

"Now that," he says, pointing at the woman that I notice is wearing a waitress's apron, "was the day that Nico met Teresa. We had just finished another bust that had gotten the little dinner involved. Your father met your mother while being undercover and they went out not long after. They clicked like it was nothing." He snaps his fingers for some emphasize. "Just like that your dad was sickly in love. Many laughed it off since it was crazy to think that Nico would fall so helplessly for a girl two years younger than him. But, hey, to each his own. And boy did he take that advice."

"Papa was very corny about things," I say. I still remember how he would make me special pancakes for Valentines and my birthday. So overdone and over the top but in a good way.

"That was your father, and your mother loved that about him. And two years later, they tied the knot." Uncle Donnie turns the pages and shows me the pictures of a little wedding in a small chapel. Not many people where there except for some of the cops from the squad and some other people that I didn't recognize. "Your grandparents from your dad's where very much against their wedding. Your mother's were gone so she was pretty much by herself. You father didn't much care for what his folks said so they eloped and married with us as their witnesses."

"Sounds like something he'd do."

"And who'd known that only half a year later they would come to us with the great news about Teresa's pregnancy." He turns another page and in this one Mama's belly has grown. A small bump is now visible through her clothes and her smile just seems to radiate like a burning star. Papa's is no different; he looks ecstatic as he holds a hand over her extended belly too. "They were happy then but only got happier after you were born."

He turned to the last page with pictures. The place where they had been taken looks familiar to me. Yeah, that's Papa's old squad room. There's even some people I recognize too. They were having a party by the looks of it. When I think that, it suddenly hits me.

_That's the party that they attended just before the accident._

That Uncle Donnie's gaze lingers on each and every one longer and longer only verifies this assumption of mine. He takes a deep breath and takes the album from me. Undoing the paper over the photos, he takes one of the pictures from the next page which is the last with pictures from what I could tell.

His eyes stay on the one photo he holds in his hands. A bitter and wry smile comes over him then and he passes the picture to me without taking his eyes from it.

"That was the last time I saw you three together."

I grab the photo and my eyes come over it to inspect it. There's no one in the background and the only people in the picture are Papa, Mama, and me. Papa's just like I remember him; he has a lop-sided smile with the one dimple that I got from him along with the emerald sheen of his eyes. Mama was something beyond my dreams, though. To say that she was beautiful would be an understatement. Her long wavy hair—the same that I have—is tied in a ponytail to the side and grand, doe eyes of an amber color are barely keeping an eye on the camera since she seemed more interested in looking at what she held. In her arms is a small bundle in pink and red garments. A small patch of dark wavy hair pokes from the white knitted blanket that they have me wrapped in and one hand reaches out too. The smiles on their faces just radiates something I've never seen before.

_They're overjoyed with life._

Uncle Donnie's sudden sniffle takes me by surprise and so does the fact that he closes the albums. I try passing him the picture back but he shakes his head. "Take it. You should be the one to have it, Reina."

There's nothing much that I can say except, "Thank you."

The more I look at this picture the more I can see how much they loved me. Just the warmth and love that I see from the photo towards the little newborn is enough to melt me. My eyes begin to sting at knowing that even then they loved me. They were the ones that brought me to this world and that loved me unconditionally as I was. They protected me—Mama even died doing so as did Papa trying to make the world a better place for me to live in.

They passed away with me on their minds.

_They weren't the only ones._

Cherise.

My hands fall to my lap as that thought sinks in. I'm sure I haven't been the daughter they hoped for. They'd be repulse, surely, if they knew the things that I've done. The things that I've hated myself for since ten years ago.

"I'm sorry…for doing those horrible things."

"Reina Teresa, they named you." Uncle Donnie's sudden outburst brings me back to him. "You know why they did that?" When I shake my head, he simply pats it like a loving relative. "You're the royalty of a tiny family. Not in the literal sense of the word; it was more in the context of the little family you three created. Your mother chose it for you. She told us that you would reign over any struggles that life would throw at you and that from them you would harvest the knowledge that would make you invincible. And you've gone through some pretty gruesome and dark struggles only to rise from them victorious; that has more than proven you were given a rightful name."

The tiny insinuation brings a realization to me and that makes me turn to look at Uncle Donnie who only smiles kindly. It's almost like a knowing and accepting smile.

_He knows._

"You know?"

"The bust on Mother Noir's drug and human trafficking was statewide news, Reina. And I was still captain of the squad back then too," he tells me. "When new information got leaked about _la famille_ all units over three different counties were mobilized to bring it down as soon as possible. Ours took care of this part of your hometown. It wasn't until the court sessions that I found out that you had been involved in Noir's _famille_ and that you had been the grand break through."

"Why didn't you go for me?" I ask. It really pains me—almost like a stab on my heart—to know that he knew about me being involved in Noir's case. He could have gotten me back and I could've lived with people who actually knew me.

_Would it have really mattered who you returned to after being broken so badly?_

No, I suppose not.

"I tried," he confesses and looks down glumly. "But as law enforcement, I wasn't allowed to go near an eye witness. I was told by the head A.D.A that it had been her and her family who'd taken you in. She said that the adoption was already due for process and that the only way that I would be able to interfere then would be for A.C.S to reject them."

"Mother knew they wouldn't," I reply. Of course they wouldn't. A prominent lawyer would make a great parent, especially when she already had three kids of her own.

"But I knew that I had to do something to see if I could help at least," he admits. "I studied the case in hopes to find concrete evidence that would hurry the process as much as possible. That way it would be as painless as possible for you. I also gave Colette the number of my psychiatrist and my own."

"She never gave it to me," I answer, feeling bad that I never called him when Mom had a way to contact someone like him.

"She really wanted to adopt you," he says with a slight snort. "She and her family had grown some sort of attachment to you, apparently."

And I suppose they had in a way. She and Jaden were the ones I talked to most when I was stuck in the hospital. The two older ones and Dad where the ones I interacted with later. They seemed to take a liking to me very easily although I wasn't too sure about trusting others back then.

"Bethany, bring me the folder that's on the top shelf of the cabinet in my room," Uncle Donnie says, turning to Bethany who swiftly gets up and goes on her way. We stay a few minutes in silence as this sinks in on both of us until Bethany gets back with a pretty thick, leather folder with all kinds of papers sticking out of it. He places it on the coffee table in front of himself and opens it up to numerous crumpled papers and papers clipped to some documents I can't decipher much about. But I don't have to know what they say because the pictures speak volumes for themselves.

They're images of the court sessions and of Noir's numerous work locations. Even pictures of some people that I recall seeing working for her, or the ones that got captured and used. Amongst the workers, I see a picture of a skinny and ghastly ten-year-old and the moment I do, my breath hitches.

_It's me._

It's the photo they took of me the day they interned me into the hospital.

"The things that you testified to doing, that the others in Noir's custody did, and what many victims went through…were despicable. Up to this day, they're some of the worse things I've heard any human being be forced to do," he says and stares at the picture of the little girl that suffered through hell and back. "One of the few reasons I didn't contact you afterwards was because I thought it'd be for the best. You would begin anew and hopefully leave behind the things that happened. If you got to be with us in my family, you'd be reminded of the atrocities that the world commits every day. You already had had enough to last you a lifetime."

"It certainly feels like it'll never go away."

"And it most likely won't," he confesses. "Things like those, I understand what they can do to you. They stay with you no matter who you see or how many meds you take." He coughs out and this time hacks rather hard, enough to cough up blood. Bethany comes to help get him cleaned and Uncle Donnie thanks her before continuing. "I have things myself that haven't gone away even after thirty years. But that doesn't mean that they define us, little Reina. If they become a part of us that does, it's only because we let them take over us like that. And to stop them we need to learn how to confront ourselves and know that somethings are just meant to be."

"Yeah," I say, understanding completely. "And that it's better to ask ourselves what to do with it now than keep asking why it even happened."

When I say this, he gives me this look that tells me I took the words right out of his mouth. He chuckles grimly and ruffles my hair before saying, "You're one of the lucky ones that got that much sooner than others, little Reina. And that's the first sign that you're learning to live with what happened."

"And that's good," I agree with a wry smile as well.

He gives a simple nod in agreement and begins to put the documents he scattered from the folder back together. As he does this though, there's one that immediately catches my attention. It's enough to make me reach out and stop his hand directly with mine.

The name on the document is Cherise Campbell.

"The Campbells." I start reading the file that's there a little bit. Although it's clearly in English, the jargon that's used is something that makes little to no sense to me so I leave it and ask the one who's read it before. "What happened to them?"

"Well," he replies, skimming over the file to refresh his memory. "According to this, after Cherise Campbell's death and Estelle Campbell's conviction, their direct family wanted to have no more connections to the case. They gave up any liability to their oldest daughter's actions and no comment on the youngest's death or involvement in any sort of shady business."

"What about Cherise's family? What happened to _them_?"

"There's not much here about them," he says. He stops briefly at one paper and reads it to himself before speaking to me again. "Just that at the time of the case she had a son of a few months from a diseased father. It was the husband from her legitimate marriage that confirmed her identity after her body was found in one of Noir's facilities."

_Then maybe there's something there. Maybe there's still a chance for me to do right by them._

"Do you have an address?"

* * *

It's getting late in the afternoon when I turn off the ignition of the Accord after parking it on the side of the curb just across from the two-story house. The overall paint is quite new: the walls a shade of dark blue while the roof tiles have been discolored from their original white to some shades of gray. There're no lights on in the house which makes it hard for me to know if they're there.

But maybe I'm just making up excuses because I don't want to see them.

_No, Reina. Don't be a wuss and back up now. You came here to set things right. So go on ahead and do it, for fuck's sake!_

Right.

Without giving myself time to hesitate anymore, I climb out of my car and slam the door to the Accord shut. Crossing the street, I take long strides to reach the front porch and stand before the white wood door. My hand's already raised over the door and ready to knock when I hear a voice from behind me that scares me out of my skin.

"Do you need something?"

I spin on my heels to look at the one that spoke to me just now. When my eyes land on the boy behind me, the resemblance I find to a certain other boy I met before hits me instantly. He looks to be maybe eleven and he stands before me wearing very casual clothes with a backpack over one shoulder. Dark auburn hair is tousled—much like Cherise's—and he wears a frown while looking at me suspiciously. The one thing that catches my attention most is the mercurial color that swims in his eyes that reminds me so much of _him._

_He looks just like Allen._

A miniature version but Allen nonetheless.

"Hey, lady. I'm talking to you," he snaps and that brings me out of my stupor.

"I-I'm sorry," I say, not knowing what else to say at that moment. "It's just that I'm looking for the Campbell family and—"

"Nick, who are you talking to?"

The voice that calls next is much deeper and that of an adult; it's a man that comes around the corner of the street, presumably from where the boy came too. That also explains why I didn't see them come since that turn was well hidden by fences.

For some reason, the moment this man sees me his eyes widen for a split second before a grimace takes over his features. He clearly sees something he doesn't like. And the only thing here is me.

"Go inside, Nick. I'll be there in a few minutes," the man tells him. There's no question to the orders; the boy opens the door with a key of his own and goes inside but I don't hear the door clicking closed. The man comes towards me and I take this opportunity to introduce myself.

"I'm sorry that I've come uninvited like this," I say, as fast as I can without sounding incoherent. "My name is—"

"I know who you are."

_What?_

"You do?"

"Yeah," he says and stands before me with the biggest glare I've ever seen on someone. "You're Reina Amaro, right?"

It baffles me even more that he's right and hadn't mistaken me with someone else. "Yes, that's me. But how did you know that?"

"How could I forget someone who was involved in my wife's murder?"

That hits me like a sucker punch to the gut. My whole blood runs cold at the mere mention of Cherise and it drains the ambition I had when coming here in the first place.

_Don't be bullied away, Reina._

The man shakes his head and that scares me for some reason. I can't help but feel under pressure now. It's like he has this unwilling force on me now that he's mentioned he knows me and that he knows I was involved with Cherise's death. This timely silence of mine gives him enough time to ask a question of his own. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

Now that he asked me something, my brain decides to kick in and blurt out the first thing that comes into my head. "I want to talk to Nicholas."

He scoffs and it feels a little belittling. I ignore that feeling though and let him talk before I say anything else. "What for?"

"Just to talk to him…about his mother."

"Then you should leave." The clear cut answer doesn't surprise me but I can't keep myself from reacting shocked at the blatancy and nonchalance of his reply. "I won't have you patronizing him with whatever you have to say."

"I don't intend to patronize anybody, _sir_ ," I say, although the last part comes out a little forced. It's hard not to react to his blatant attitude towards me but I have to endure it. If I don't then I might not get a chance to speak to Nicholas and that's the only reason I came here for. "I just want to speak to him about his mother. Perhaps not about what happened but certainly about what she has come to meant."

"There's no way I'm letting you talk to him."

"I want to hear her out."

When we hear his voice, we both turn towards the front door to see Nicholas popping out of it. He seems to have been listening and just now decided to intervene. The confusion from before when I saw him is gone and instead he just seems genuinely curious and left out. I can tell that his father's about to reject me again but Nicholas speaks up. "Please, dad. I want to hear what she has to say about mom. Please?"

His father looks at me and then back at him before clicking his tongue. He gives a curt nod towards the door and walks up ahead of me. Nicholas brightens up a little and opens the door fully for him to pass before waiting for me to come in. It takes me a few seconds to realize that he's letting me inside before I actually follow behind him. Nicholas closes the door behind himself as the three of us stand in the living room quite awkwardly.

"I'll be in the next room over," he says and points towards a door that's down the corridor from the living room. "You have ten minutes." He leaves us be after a few seconds and walks to the room he said he would be in. After he's gone from our sight, Nicholas goes to a couch and I follow without really thinking. He sits on the floor close to the couch but I take a sit on it.

He doesn't beat around the bush though and quickly starts up the conversation. "You said you knew my mom?"

"Y-Yeah, for a short time but I did." I leave out the circumstances of how like I promised his father I would.

His expression turns a bit bitter and he looks away. He brings his knees up to hug them and rests his chin on top of them. "No one ever talks about mom. At least not in front of me. Sometimes when I'm around and no one knows it, they start talking about her. But the moment they notice me, they stop. They won't talk about her even when I ask. Lady, you…don't seem to hold back though." He raises his head a little, this time to look at me as I stare at him perplexed by the sudden declarations. "Even now when dad was telling you to go away, you said no. You wanted to talk to me about mom. Why?"

"No one ever talked to you about her?" I ask and he shakes his head.

Not surprising. This is really just like what Uncle Donnie was talking to me about. Everybody was so pained and hurt about what had happened to Mama that they didn't want to mention her name. Much less talk about her in front of me, a little girl who knew nothing about what the world was really like. Nicholas' situation, I don't think it's that much different. He may be a little older than I was then but he's still a child.

_That doesn't mean he doesn't wish to know either._

Exactly. He may be young and perhaps it is something that he shouldn't be told but that doesn't mean that he doesn't yearn to know about a mother he never got to meet…because of me.

I get off from my sit on the couch and slide down to sit next to him on the floor. Once closer, I start with what I think is the best. "I didn't know your mother for a long time. And I was very young when I met her; I was maybe a couple of years younger than you. But there is something that I know because she would always talk about it."

"What was it?" he asks, eagerly looking up at me with hopeful eyes.

A smile comes to my lips as I continue with what I want to say. "She talked about the people she loved a lot. She talked about your father and how much she loved him. And also about her cute little son, Nicky."

"She…did?" I give him a small nod and that puts him to think again. He doesn't waste time like before and asks anything that's coming to his mind. "Once I think I overheard them talking about mom passing away because she tried protecting someone."

There's a knot in my throat that tells me not to say anything. But there's another part—a much bigger part—telling me to go ahead and do it.

_Don't lie to him, Reina. Not when everybody else already has._

"She did," I tell him. "Your mother protected a little girl that was trapped in a very awful place. And _I'm_ that little girl your mother gave herself up to protect, Nicky." That confession makes him look up at me with wide eyes. He's so baffled that he can't even speak, so I take this chance to continue. "And had I not been a coward and gone to help her, you wouldn't be living like this now. You would have a mother who's with you and loving you. I know what I took away from you and I'm sorry…for giving you such horrible pain. I'm sorry, Nicholas."

He buries his face in his knees and doesn't speak for a few seconds. There's silence and I'm pretty much expecting for him to tell me to go away by then. To my surprise though, he doesn't. Instead he turns to face me then and gives me a little crooked smile. He's hurt, that much is clear, but I can see something else swimming in that mercury that makes up his eyes.

_Peacefulness._

"I'm not mad at you if that's what you think. I don't know what I'm feeling right now, really. But it's weird." He grabs at his chest with his open hand and closes it in a tight fist, wrinkling his clothes. "I'm a little bit sad but I'm also…happy?" Nicholas shakes his head and chuckles to himself. "Maybe knowing that mom said those things to you is making me feel like this."

"You could tell she loved you," I say. I've never really told anyone the things I thought about Cherise when I would meet with her. But I knew that if anybody should know, it should be Nick. "Every time I saw her she always talked about the little baby of hers. Her cute little Nicky and how his eyes shown like twinkles in the sky."

This makes Nick chuckle a little and he turns to look at me. "Dad says that the Dumbo doll in my room is something she left me. She liked Dumbo and those words are written in marker on the bottom of the doll, 'love you, baby of mine'. She really did, didn't she?"

My hand comes up to pat his head. I plant a soft kiss on his head and let my hand fall to his shoulder and hug him tightly. It's a quiet sob that I hear a little bit after and I just hug him tighter. "With all her heart."

_Just like mine did._

His arms become undone from his legs and come around my neck to give me a tiny hug. His face comes up next to mine and he snuggles his cheek closer to mine. It's a haste little hug and he quickly lets go. But it certainly means the world to me. He sits back down but doesn't take his eyes away from me.

"Thank you for telling me all this, miss."

"My name's Reina, Nicky. And you're most welcomed." From my bag, I come up with a pen and take his hand in mine before writing my phone number down. "And if you ever want to talk about her or anything else just give me a call. Just make sure your dad knows." He stares at the numbers I jotted down on the tiny palm of his. He looks up and smiles again before nodding.

We hear a series of footsteps coming and we both look up to see his father coming into the room. A solemn frown is still plastered on his face and that doesn't surprise me. "Time's up." I give him a curt nod and stand up just as Nick does.

"It was a pleasure talking to you, Nicholas."

"Yeah," he simply answers. But I see the tiny smile that he's trying to hide.

His father, however, walks me out of the house just after telling Nicholas to go up to his room to do homework. We walk out of the house and this time he makes sure to close the door after himself. He doesn't want me snooping around anymore than I should which is why he's probably making sure I leave. But there's something that I want to tell him first.

Spinning on my heels, I meet his glare and give him a stern look of my own before saying what I want to say. "You should tell Nick about Cherise."

"What did you say?" he says, sounding rather angry at my bold comment. And despite clearly hearing that, I don't back down from what I said.

"He deserves to know about his mother."

"I don't need advice from a damn murderer," he snaps, surprisingly his voice is still leveled but I can hear the venom oozing from his tone.

"Then take it from a girl who only met her own dead mother today." This seems to take him back a little but the glare doesn't disappear. "Nick will want to know sooner or later. And he'll have all the right in the world to know—"

I barely finish my sentence before he forcefully shoves me out of his porch. It takes me a little by surprise but my reflexes are good enough that I don't fall back to a sit. Instead, I just stumble back onto the front lawn. Baffled at what he just did, I stare up at him but this time I can see he's livid.

"Get off of my fucking property." He doesn't stay behind to say anything else or to wait and see if I leave. Instead he simply goes back inside, slamming the door after himself rather forcefully.

Having nothing else to do now, I walk my way out towards the sidewalk. Feeling someone's eyes on me, I turn towards the house and have to look up to catch the person who's watching me leave. There on the second floor is where I barely can see Nicholas from a window. When he sees I'm watching him, he seems to smile and I wave at me. I give him a smile of my own and wave back at him before heading to my car.

I have to sit for a little bit in the car but soon enough I turn the ignition on and start heading home. All the while I have the radio off and simply replay the conversation I had with Nick over and over again. It just amazes me how this so called fate pulls people so much alike together.

Nick and I are the clearest example I can see.

Circumstances separated us from our most loved ones. But from tragedy it seems great things can be born; not only can there be grief and sadness but also great courage and love for others. Most importantly, it seems that there's something we've inherited from them: the ability to forgive.

Nick is young and still innocent, so he is able to do it without much hardship.

_And if he can then maybe I can learn from him too. Maybe I can learn how to forgive others and most importantly…to forgive myself._

* * *

It's just a little past eight when I get home. I didn't really want to come back right after visiting Nick. The little guy actually called me a couple of hours after I left. He called me while I ate out at some old hamburger place and said that he'd keep contact whenever he could. That was a relief for me and I bid him goodnight before finishing my dinner and coming back home.

The lights at home are out. At least most of them are from the looks of it. Mom and Dad don't get home till much later but Kat should be here already. Coming inside the house, I go to her room first but see that she's not there, only her backpack is.

Okay, she's here but where?

Turning the corner of the corridor that leads to my own room, I notice that the shower's running in the bathroom we share. She's probably taking a shower then. Kat's old enough, already going to be ten, so she'll be good by herself. To wait for her, I head up to my room and plan to spend some time reminiscing all the things that happened today.

Sadly, though, that's not what somebody else has in mind.

When I come into my room, the lights are already on and Jaden's sitting at the edge of my bed. He sees me coming in and when he does, he gives me a small smile while his hands play with something in his hands.

"Finished with what you had to do?"

"Yeah." My answer is short because I want him to get the point. I don't really want to talk to him right now. I take off my coat and put my purse aside while not meeting his eye the whole time.

Silence comes over us until he's forced to break it. "Went somewhere special?"

"Visited Seb and Ger," I tell him quickly. "Went to see Papa too."

"Finally got what it took to go?"

"I went, didn't I?"

"Mm." He gives me that last answer before silence comes over us again. This time it lasts a little longer but not long enough. "Could you come over here?"

It surprises me that a very audible sigh comes out of me but I can't keep avoiding him forever. He might be a little thick-headed so it'll be best if I just tell him straight forward.

_Hear him out first._

Yeah, I will. He's still my brother, after all.

So I turn and come up to the bed and sit on the edge of it near him but not exactly by his side. Jaden, however, doesn't seem to mind and instead has his eyes fixed on whatever he's holding in his hands. Because I don't really want to start a conversation that will go nowhere, I remain quiet and wait for him to speak first. It takes him much longer than before now and even then he doesn't say anything.

Instead he hastily gives me what's in his hands. I struggle a little to hold it in mine but once I can, I get to see what it is. It's a round compact that barely fits in my palm. Its gold color is a little faded and it has a small rod that it has stuck to one side.

_It opens._

My fingers go to the tiny latch on the opposite side of the circle and click it open. When I do this, I finally get what it's supposed to be; it's a compact double picture frame. Very vintage too. It's not surprising though that he knows I like collecting antiques like these. And by the looks of it, it might be quite old.

On the inside, it has two spaces that are framed in gold for photos. One side—the right space—already has a picture in it. It's a birthday picture that I remember somewhat. It's a party picture and by the dress I'm wearing—a pastel green with a big white bow around my waist—I recognize that it's the party they threw for my twelfth birthday. It was the first birthday that was actually celebrated with the O'Conners after they officially adopted me.

Sebastian, Gerard, and Jaden are behind me grinning wide while huddling closer to me. I remember those shit-eating grins were because Mom had reprimanded them about being serious for the family picture. I was enjoying the dumb things they were pulling on each other to make me laugh. Mom and Dad stood to the sides, Mom closer to me because in my arms I held the new baby girl of a few months that was Kathleen. I can't believe the grand smile that I have while holding my baby sister who's dressed in a matching colored onesie as mine. Before us on the table was a tray of chocolate cupcakes that where put side by side; frosting and jelly was used to write on top of them 'happy birthday, Reina' but the words were a little cut off from the picture because of the frame.

But the whole family was there.

_It's beautiful._

"It's your birthday present." Jaden's sudden outburst takes me by surprise but I can't look away from this marvelous photo. "Mom had the picture and I thought you'd like to have it with you."

"Thank you," is all I can say. There's nothing more than I can think to say anyway. "It's gorgeous."

"I'm glad you like it." His words now sounded genuinely surprised. "It was something that I bought a few months ago, thinking you might like it. I was going to give it to you whether you woke up or not. I thought maybe if you saw that, even heard us talking about your first birthday with us, it'd make you wake up."

That his voice suddenly cracks finally makes me look up at him and I see some clear anguish in his expression. His sight is still on his hands as he plays nervously with them. He heaves a sigh and ruffles his hair to break himself out of the stupor he's in. "It still scares me a hell lot, you know. Thinking that you wouldn't wake up…ever."

"But I didn't."

"No, you didn't," he says, and I catch him looking for a brief second at me beneath his lashes. It quickly goes away though and he goes on. "But we already lost Seb and Ger and that had been as sudden as anything. Your accident wasn't that different at all either. And just the thought of losing you too—" He groans and shakes his head along with the thought he didn't seemingly want to finish. "I don't want that."

I give a slight chuckle to lift up the mood that he's cast in the room. "Yeah. It would've really sucked for me and my plans had I died too."

He chuckles too for a little bit but it seems he's not finished talking. He takes one deep breath and at doing that, I know that he's about to drop a bomb on me. He's gotten too predictable or at least that's what I've been thinking ever since I came back.

_Maybe it's not that he's gotten more predictable. Maybe it's that you're more observant about what others do._

Maybe. But whichever it is, it doesn't change the fact that he's about to drop something on me. And it sounds heavy.

"Reina, I've made up my mind," he says. "After the results of my entrance exams come in, I'll tell our parents about us." That statement throws cold water over me. But it doesn't seem he's done just yet. "And I'll ask them for their permission—a blessing, really."

Blessing?

_Please, God. Tell me he doesn't mean what I think he does._

"Blessing for what…?"

"So that we can marry."

_Oh, forget the bomb. This is a cataclysm like no other._

Shit. Marriage? _Really?_ I mean, back before all this, I knew that if it weren't for the family we would've already ran off and done it but now...

_Just tell him the truth, Reina. He deserves that much at least._

"I'm happy you would go that far for us, Jaden. Really, I am." He hears the 'but' coming just as much as I'm insinuating its approach. He knows I'm heading down a bad path with this sentence. And he's not wrong. "But you shouldn't bother."

"What?" He sounds confused and shocked, and although he clearly saw it coming he still sounds very much baffled. "But why?"

"It's just that I don't want to continue a relationship that started on such shaky legs," I tell him. "Or one that I know won't go anywhere even if we do marry."

"I don't believe that," he argues, and I can tell he's a little pissed. No shit; wouldn't anybody? He basically got his proposal rejected. Then again, it's my choice too. "Reina, I love you. And I have for a very long time."

"And I did too, Jade; I loved you once too," I admit. It's not a lie either but this kind of love—I've had time to look at it for what it really is. "It's just that the kind of love I had for you was a very bad one." I can tell he wants to say something but I beat him to it. What I have to say should really be said first. "I can't speak for you or how you feel, but I know what I had for you was one sick love. What you gave me was grand and wonderful but I came to realize that I was only lying to myself saying I was happy. The love we had—the love you gave me—back then it was something I desperately wanted. But it's not the one I need."

"Then tell me what kind you need, Rei." I look up to him but he quickly buries his face in his hands out of frustration. "Tell me so I can give it to you."

That statement just makes me scoff mostly at the desperate attempt he's making. What he's offering, although great, is clearly with the wrong ideal in mind. He wants to keep this alive but his efforts are in vain. This won't work no matter how much he loves me. And it's simply because…I don't love him anymore.

"I thought I loved you but I've come to realize that it hasn't been _love_. What you have to give is sweet and kind but it isn't enough. What I have is a need to fill something in me that has always been empty."

_Not always._

My hands come up to my arms and a warmth starts to fill me. Just the mere thought of _him_ makes that emptiness seem almost nonexistent. What _he_ made me feel, now that there made me whole. That feeling was not only loving and caring but also stupidly his own. And that made it that much more special.

What he makes me feel—even without needing to be here or real—is beyond wonderful.

_It may not be the type of love I want…but it surely is the type of love I need._

"The love I need is a blatant one, Jaden. The love we had was a high. Nothing but a drug that felt like the right one to fulfill these empty needs of mine. But what I need is an unconditional love. One that knows of what I am and the things I've done and regardless of them accepts me for who I am and what I've become. What I need is a love that will accept everything in my life as a part of me."

_Because that's exactly what they are—parts of who I am._

"I accept you."

That he's willing to say that makes me a tiny bit happy because it shows that he's trying his hardest to convince me. But I've heard him say that a hundred times and they all sound the same. But I've already met someone who doesn't need to tell me those words directly for me to feel their heaviness and meaning. Every action he did spoke volumes of that acceptance.

And there's something I can do to proof it.

"Jaden," I say loud and clear so there's no confusion to what I'm about to ask. "Face me."

"I am." But he's not. His face is directed at me but his eyes are looking everywhere but at mine.

"Look me in the eyes."

He blinks a couple of times and on the last blink his eyes languidly come up to look at mine. When I see them, though, an interesting enough epiphany hits me. They're not green and they're not honey-colored either.

His eyes are hazel.

A dry laughter hits me at being so blind but I let it slide. It doesn't matter anyway. Not anymore.

So instead, I ask him what I was intending to in the first place.

"Jaden, do you blame me for what I did when I was in Noir's care?"

It's the same question I asked before in the morning and he seems to have had time to think about it because he doesn't hesitate now.

"You didn't have a choice."

_There it is._

"You're wrong," I say with a smile on my face. "I did have a choice. But I believe that what I did was what anybody would do if they had been in my place: I chose to survive. I wanted to live…and that's only human."

With that said, I stand up from my sit on the bed and stand before him. He's lowered his sight now and he seems to be trying to understand what I told him. And hopefully someday he will and he'll learn that things like these are all a part of us and if life.

Despite the horrible events that I went through, there are things that have flourished beautifully from them. My unconditional love for others, my perseverance to live, and my yearning to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

_I am who I am because of them. And I wouldn't change that for the world._

"There will be nothing more between us Jaden," I say to him. "You're a wonderful man and someday someone who will truly love you will appear. And I just hope that they truly deserve you."

In my hand I still hold the compact frame and put it in my pocket before coming closer to him. I plant a single kiss on his head but even then he still doesn't look up. But it's fine.

"I will always love and treasure you, Jaden. You will always be my savior and my big brother."

Once I finish saying what I need to, I leave the room and don't plan on going back. He'll take some time to let what I just told him sink in and that's okay. I have other plans anyway. I go down and walk through the corridor before opening the door to Kat's room.

She's already out of the shower and is just sitting on her bed reading some books from school. At seeing me, a grand smile appears and she jumps out of bed to hug me.

"Hey, Rei!" she exclaims.

"Hey, kiddo." My hand comes to her head and I grimace. "Your hair's soaking." She giggles because she knows I hate it when she doesn't dry her hair after showering so late. I tell her to go sit down in front of her mirror while I get the towel she brought from the bathroom. Getting to her, I start to dry her hair with it. It takes me some minutes and she keeps giggling at random when I touch a ticklish spot of hers but I'm soon done. When I am, her hair's all over the place so I take the brush and start smoothing it out.

"Reina, I got your present for your birthday!" she exclaims once I'm done. "Want to open it now?"

"Sure thing," I tell her. This makes her squeal and she tramples off her chair to get a box from underneath her bed. She takes me by the hand and brings me to her pink-comforter-covered bed to sit down. She then sits beside me before handing me the box. "Happy birthday, big sister Rei!"

The box is long but thin, maybe a jewelry box, and it's wrapped in green metallic colored paper with a gold bow on top. Yep, definitely Mom's wrapping too. She must've helped Kat wrap this.

A chuckle escapes me as I start to unwrap it from its pretty decorations. To hype her giddiness up, I start saying things like how excited I am and how I wondered what it could be. This just makes her giggle even more and makes me laugh from her reactions. The jewelry box is a velvety purple and I have to open the box up to find the necklace inside.

But all jokes and cheers wash away from me the moment my eyes land on the charm that's on the necklace.

It's a small purple butterfly made of crystal. I can't believe my eyes. My fingers come up to it and I grab it in them to touch it. When I confirm that it's actually real, a gasp escapes me. But it's impossible that it's real, though. It can't be because…

_It's the same exact one that Tyki gave me._

"Reina?" Her worried tone of voice makes me turn to her and her expression mimics what I just heard.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" she asks with a kicked-puppy look to her. "You're crying."

That one word makes me touch my face with my fingers and indeed there's a small trail coming down my eyes. I wipe them away and smile instead. Before she can say anything, I grab her in my arms and hug her as tightly as I can.

"Would you help me?"

She nods and helps me take it out of the box. It's then that I realize that the chain that it's on is different. It's not thick and gold like the one that I remember wearing. Instead this one is thin links of silver that hold the little charm. I put it on and stare myself in the mirror. The little crystal butterfly shines in the dim light of her lamp and it almost looks like before.

"I love it, Kat. It's beautiful," I say and plant a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you, sweetie."

"You're welcome!"

For the next few hours, she and I snuggle in her small bed and she talks away about her day and how school has been. Kat and I haven't had any time to talk to each other which is why this is nice for me. By ten or so, she's already drifted off and I simply hold her close to me and savor the familiarity of this.

My mind starts drifting and before I know it I fall asleep.

* * *

The first thing I hear is a tiny, distant voice calling for me to wake up. In the beginning I think it is Kat telling me to move but it sounds too far away for it to be her.

Not only that but it sounds way different. It's her voice but not her tone or words.

_It's not Kat._

But I've only ever met one other person—at least I think so—that's ever reminded me so closely of Kathleen. And with her in mind the name is out of me before I can think it.

"Road…?"

"It's me."

At hearing her again, I'm forced to open my eyes. I'm not in Kat's room anymore or in my house for that matter. I'm lying on quite literally nothing. All around me is bare of anything except black. I sit up and at moving I feel strange grains through my fingers. Below me, I see, is sand but not of any color I've ever seen it. I can feel this sand as I pass it through my fingers but it's the same black as everything else so it blends in almost invisibly. It changes color when I touch it, though, and it becomes a pretty sparkly purple.

Everything is so surreal.

_This is dream. It has to be._

"It _is_ a dream," her voice faintly says. Out of the blue, tiny gold sparks begin to fly over and over in front of me. Almost like a firecracker being lit, but instead of exploding into brighter lights they come closer together and form something.

It's a tiny, fuzzy light but it has a face. No, it's a head.

_It's Road._

The tiny mouth doesn't move but the words I hear echo from it as it floats before me. "It's the only way I could think of to connect with you."

_What?_

"Connect?" But I shake my head not wanting to believe this and start swatting at the light. "This can't be happening. All that I went through, those events, were just a dream of my subconscious. They have to be."

"You're an idiot if you believe that," she brusquely tells me as the light sways out of my reach. Once I calm down, it floats back to its original place in front of me. "But that doesn't matter right now. I can't stay like this forever. I came because I need to know if you wish to return."

"Return?" _There's no way she means what I think she does. It can't possibly be it._ "Return to where?"

"To where all of us are. To _our_ world."


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: M rated content ahead.

_**Twenty-One** _

_**Beautiful Respite** _

* * *

It's the witching hour and I'm wide awake.

Even though Kathleen is sound asleep a few feet away from me, after rousing from that disturbing dream I couldn't just go back to sleep. I got up and came up against her wall to sit down and watch over her. My hands grasp my legs and hold them closer to my body as if to rid it of a coldness I know isn't there. I bury my head in the gap between my legs and chest trying to hear the silence of the room.

But there's noise.

The clock that's ticking, marking time with my pounding heart.

Kathleen's even breathing that tells me she's alive.

And Road's tiny voice that keeps calling my name, telling me to close my eyes.

Believing it still to be a hallucination of some kind, I humor her and do as she bids, letting my eyes close. Soon the noise all around me begins to muffle until I hear no more ticking, no more breathing. Nothing but actual silence.

Then her voice.

"How rude. Why did you wake yourself up?"

"I don't want to talk to a figment of my imagination."

"Idiot," she says. "You're not imaging this. I'm real and what happened to you wasn't a dream."

_Lies._

"You can't prove that."

"Yes, I can," she retorts. At hearing this, my head rises from its hiding place and recognizes that I'm back at the dark room where nothing but the purple sand is. And before me is that little spark of light that's Road. "That charm on your necklace should be proof enough."

"This thing is just a coincidence." _A cruel coincidence._ "It proofs nothing. You're not real. Not in my world."

"You're right," she agrees. "That's why I had to use something from my world to create a link I could travel through."

"Even if what you're saying is true, it still makes no sense," I tell her, raising my voice a bit from this frustration that's sinking in my stomach and creating a lump in my throat. "The Road I know would never got through so much trouble to take me back. _You_ would never do this—walking worlds apart to get me."

"You're not wrong," she says. "I knew where you came from the instant I peered into your memories. I knew that you didn't belong with us or our world. And I knew that you would go back eventually. That's the main reason I played it out to keep you with us. I wanted to play with you until the day came that you left."

Of course that's her reason. I'm just a toy like all the others. That doesn't surprise me anymore.

"Then why?"

"Because…even though I'm glad you're not here anymore, there're others who aren't."

That hits me with tremendous power. And there's only one question that instantly comes to my mind, bringing with it a smidge of hope that I know could easily be broken.

_Who…?_

"Who is it?"

But Road ignores me completely and instead goes on ahead to something else. "When you helped Tyki that time, you fainted. The powers of that dumb God—that Innocence of yours—it healed him but at doing so it rattled your soul. So much so that it detached from the body you gained here and returned to the only other place it knew of."

"Back here?" I ask. Instantly, I shake my head trying to figure what she was talking about. "But that's impossible. You're talking as if I have two separate bodies in two different places."

"You're close," Road says. "It's called a doppelganger and what you experienced was a journey through two pockets of space."

Could she mean universes? And what's this about a doppelganger?

But she's quick to explain what she knows.

"Maybe you've heard of this before but in the vastness of any given world there are an infinite number of others existing parallel to it. They coexist in space but seldom in time. Every pocket starts out the same but in each there are unique circumstances that shape it to what it eventually becomes. They may share similarities but as a whole they are separate beings; you won't find one that's exactly the same as another."

"Multiple universes."

"Something like that, yeah," Road replies. "Because they are parallel to each other and because they start as equals, they contain the same beings in them. Whatever becomes of them in their respective worlds, though, comes from how the world develops."

It's like a large scale game of Life. Each round you start with the same settings but each decision you make changes each game to something different.

"Then the doppelganger you mentioned was meant in a literal way?"

The tiny spark nods languidly. "In your world and ours there are two identical beings who identify as 'Reina Teresa Amaro.' I don't know how but the reason you were able to get here in the first place was because of a very rare thing that occurs. When the same being from both worlds have a near death experience, their souls teeter with only a thin string connecting them to their respective bodies. Usually they either die getting a glimpse of their other life or they return with a sense of their life flashing before their eyes. They're not only seeing theirs but also the other that's also partially disconnected to itself but connected to one another."

"What happened with me then? Why did I go over there and here I remained in a coma?"

"It's what I can't get, either," Road says. "But whatever happened, it severed your soul from your body and pushed it towards the one here that was also barely hanging on. A body can't have two dominant minds, so it's obvious that the more capable and strong of the two would engulf the weaker one and take over. I think that's what happened in your case. After being forcefully taken out of your body and world and brought to this one and this body, you absorbed the other 'Reina's' soul. You became a single soul that owned two separate bodies."

"That's not possible though," I say. My hands reaches up to the necklace and the charm and another thought hits me then. "Then what about my things. My stuff, my butterfly knife, and Kat's mirror—how did those things travel there too?"

"The same way that I got the charm over to you in your world," Road explains. "There is always one of everything in every world. The things you recognized as yours came to be with you because of your strong connection to them at the moment."

My bag? But that doesn't make—

_It does. What where you trying to do minutes before the crash? Why did you take only those things?_

Because I wasn't planning on going back. I wanted to take what I would be needing and what I treasured most. It was a luggage of necessity and survival, of mementos. If what she said is true then that other body…

"You said I fainted before."

She nods and continues. "You are currently completely out of it but the body is empty. There is no soul, and without one it will simply continue to be like this. But I can bring your soul back here. That's why I'm asking if you want to come back."

That was a load of information to take in. But even through the confusion, a sense of promise overwhelms me. Then a sort of dread that makes me ask my next question. "Hypothetically speaking, if all that you're saying is true and I can return then I have one doubt—what will happen to my body here, in my world, if I decide to go back?"

"It will go back to being comatose," Road says without any hesitation. "Just like it was before; and without a soul, it will eventually die out. It'll be like a candle with a lit wick; without you there to extinguish that flame, the wax will eventually disappear from the heat."

_Then it's no good._

"I can't leave them like that," I tell her, feeling a sorrow deep in me. "They've suffered enough for me to just leave them again."

Road's head lowers its gaze then turns to me. "There may be something I can do."

_What?_

"W-what is it?"

"I could break your soul in two, leave a piece behind in that body and let the other half come back," Road says. "The part that's left behind won't know what happened during your time here, I'll make sure of that. And it'll live out the life meant for you there as if nothing had happened. The other you that returns will then have no other anchor holding it back. You'll lose the ability to traverse through the two bodies and stay permanently here."

"It sounds like there should be a huge 'but' somewhere in there."

"But it won't be for nothing," Road continues. "By doing this, you'll leave yourself vulnerable. When a soul dies in a world that isn't its original, it's left to wonder endlessly without rest. You'll suffer after you die; eternal damnation and the sorts that many warn about."

That's why she sounded so reluctant to say anything. She knows the risks and what I'd be giving up to go back there. It's up to me now to answer one single question: is it worth it.

_There's one other thing you can ask to make up your mind._

"Is Tyki okay?"

"What?" She sounds genuinely amazed that I even asked.

"You said that I healed him with my Innocence—" _Which is a conundrum in and of itself._ "Is Tyki all right now?"

Road remains quiet for a few seconds before replying. "Because of what you did, his Noah didn't devour his soul. He's still Tyki Mikk. But…he's suffering from something else now."

"What?"

"A broken heart."

That tears me inside and a silence falls all around until Road breaks it. "I won't force you to go back even if it means seeing Tyki like this. It's the only thanks I can think of."

"Thanks? What for?"

"For helping us," Road says. "When Skin died, you mourned with us and even though I was mad at you believing you were only patronizing us, I know now you weren't. You helped Jasdevi and saved Tyki…twice. And most of all you reminded me why I love my family in the first place."

I had no words for that. Had I really done all those things? Unconsciously, perhaps but they seemed to mean a whole lot to Road. It would explain why she was acting so much on instinct here.

It isn't much different of how I am, either. If I speak from instinct without a thought of anything in my mind, I can truly say that in that place I felt more at home than anywhere here. Despite the horrible things that happened and everything that's happening because of the war, there are still good people there who make up the grandiose moments that made it feel so comfortable.

There, people didn't see me for my actions of the past. They see me for who I am now, for the things I do and the wisdom I give them. On that place, I'm not Reina Amaro, the little orphan girl who was forced to do horrible things. I'm just Reina, a young woman that's working on not letting those horrible things define her, and understanding that she did what she did to live. Because that's what I want to do: I want to live as myself without fear of judgement from others.

_And there's only one place that's given me that._

"I'll do it."

Road's tiny head looks up to me the moment I say those words.

"I want to go back, my eternal soul be damned," I say, confidently. "At least a part of it will be here with Kat and everybody else."

"Are you sure?" she asks, and I can hear some sort of confusion again. "If I rip your soul in half, there's no telling what part will be left behind. For all you know, it could be the one part that you've always feared. The bad part of you."

"I've told you before haven't I?" I ask. "There's no good or bad when it comes to people, it's only our will. So long as it's a part of me that stays, I know it'll want the same thing I've wanted: to protect them and see them happy." A crazy thought comes to my mind and as I'm thinking of how to phrase it, it turns out to be quite the opposite of crazy. "In a way, you and I are the same in that aspect. We love our families. And it's not because they were born to us or because we were born to them; it's because they're the ones that we let into our hearts."

There's a small pause before she answers and I almost think that the little spark smiled.

"I couldn't agree more." Road takes a long breath before continuing. "Then just stay calm and hold onto anything you want to bring along. The less the better though. And brace yourself, this'll most likely hurt."

That's the only sort of warning that she gives me before my vision goes dark. At first I think it's normal because of the room but then my hearing also goes away and I can't feel anything anymore.

But that quickly changes when a searing pain comes over me. I try screaming but it's impossible; I don't hear my voice nor feel my vocal chords trying to make any noise. The pain only increases. It's almost like somebody's running a knife from my chest all the way down my stomach very painfully slow. I can almost feel the cold blade running down and tearing my skin apart as it runs down my body. It lasts for an excruciating long time but it miraculously ends.

A punch of some sort hits me and blows all the air out of my lungs. Before I know it, I feel like I'm free falling. I try screaming again but there's still nothing. It's not until I try to move that I actually do something. My whole body spasms out, my eyes shoot open, and my lungs take the biggest breath I've ever taken.

The dim light that hits my eyes hurts a bit but it helps me relax too. My breathing takes some time—my lungs getting used to breathing again—before it calms down to a normal rhythm. It's hard to but I manage to move my fingers before anything else. At doing so, I notice that I'm holding something round in my left hand. Not only is it round but it also has a tiny stick that's glued to one end. All at once, I recognize what it is.

_The compact frame._

It not only has the picture of my birthday, but also the one I placed in there after waking up in Kat's room; it has the picture of my birth parents holding me. Both families that have given and taught me so much.

A silhouette hovers over me and my eyes take a little bit to adjust to the image. Road's dark eyes catch a gleam in the dim light and her fair complexion surprises me. A grin comes over her lips but it's not like those that I remember scaring me so much.

"Welcome back to hell," she says.

That line makes me smile.

I try sitting up but my whole body isn't paying much attention to me. It takes some work to get my arms to move and even then they don't hold me up much. Road helps me a little just to sit up against the bed's headrest.

"How long—" I ask and find my voice a little raspy. Clearing my throat first, I try asking again. "How long have I been out?"

"Almost two weeks," Road says and lazily sits on the edge of the bed, "For sure we thought you died back then too." She stares at her shiny shoes as she dangles her legs over the edge. Now that my sight's better, I can distinguish her more.

It feels like it's been a lifetime since I last saw her but then again it doesn't. Kat and she are freakishly too much alike in looks. Not in personality though. Road's wearing a nice dress of pretty pastel colors—mostly pinks and purples—and looks like she came from somewhere else too.

"Where are we?"

"My house," she says. "There's a party going on right now, too."

"Quite generous to keep me here when you all thought me dead," I say. That comment makes her look my way and that stare just tells me that I'm wrong. And of course, I was being sarcastic about their superfluous kindness. "Who's paying for my stay?"

"Tyki's the one that talked Sheril into keeping you here," she explains to me. "Right now, he's slaving away down in the ballroom. He's not been given a rest since they made the arrangements. Frankly, he's worked harder than I've ever seen him even when he hates doing these kind of things."

"By the looks of it, you left someone important waiting too," I say, teasingly.

Road turns my way and grins. "Father won't mind. Besides, I was getting tired of just watching Tyki talk with so many girls~ So I decided to come here and look after you instead."

"Are you insinuating something?" I ask, feeling the very need to hit her head for that unnecessary comment.

"Nothing at all~" she cajoles and turns to sprawl herself on top of my legs with her hands propping her chin up.

"If he's out there then he must be feeling well enough then." My hands come up to Road and roll her over to the end of the bed so that I can throw my legs over the edge of it. I try to stand but it seems it's a little bit hard for my feet to support my weight after not moving for two weeks.

It's the same as when I was out for six months except it's not that bad.

 _And it's different here._ _You have healing powers._

True.

Without thinking, I reach to place my hand atop Road's head and focus. All I want is a little bit so that my muscles aren't so weak. The dim green light responds almost instantly and my hand feels warm. That heat flows from my arm all through my body and a reinvigorating feeling fills me. Road only gives it a few seconds before she takes my hand off of her head.

"I wouldn't suggest you doing that anymore." This time she sounds a little bit menacing. "We're Noah after all and you have Innocence; you might not will it to but it _can_ hurt us."

"Mine won't." I don't know where the confidence comes from but it's crystal clear. "Even though I know it's meant to destroy, it won't."

"You trust it that much?"

"I trust myself. That's more than enough to me."

Road stared at me for the longest time, her dark eyes boring into mine. She sighs then and her expression becomes bored, "I guess, but keep it hidden from the others. In any case, you're here now. Don't you think we should celebrate?"

"Don't think it's the best time to celebrate," I quickly tell her.

"Well, the party's already going on downstairs. Might as well take advantage of it." Road gasps at that and a grand smirk comes to her face. "You could go there to have some fun~"

"I don't think I'm in the best of shape to be going out to party, Road."

"You just got some of my energy, didn't you? Can you stand?"

At that question, I'm curious myself and get up only to find that I can stand perfectly fine. There's only a phantom of the tiredness that I felt a few seconds ago and I can tell that Heaven's Touch has done its job.

"Great!" Road exclaims and grabs my hand. She drags me to the door just across from the bed and only opens it to toss me inside. Before I can do anything, she closes the door and locks me in the bathroom.

"Road!?"

"Go shower!" Road calls from the other side. "I'll pick out your dress. It'll be something simple since you'll be there for the last few minutes anyway."

"I don't want to go there!" I say, groaning loudly behind the door.

"Don't you want to see him, though?"

That one question holds me back and I ask it to myself.

Do I want to see Tyki?

"More than anything."

"See?" she says, coyly. "Get ready, I'll bring you the dress." I hear her footsteps go away as she runs out of the room.

Once I'm alone, I quickly shower and I'm out in less than twenty minutes. By the time I'm out, though, Road's already back and with a couple of maids to help me get dressed. She bosses everybody around and the maids don't complain, not like they can. But I can.

"I can't wear this, Road," I instantly tell her once it's on. The maids ignore my complaints though and simply continue putting on my light make-up and doing my hair.

"What are you talking about?"

I step aside from the maids and show myself to her. The dress is very simply. It's nothing but a dark emerald and off the shoulder which has a collar that dips a bit into a deep curve. It clearly shows most of my shoulders and collar bone, and most of the top of my breasts. It's barely concealing anything there. The skirt is much simpler though; it's just a little fluffy with the pinafore underneath it. One look at it and Belle's dress from Beauty and the Beast instantly came to mind. It's a color swap mostly, with the finer details in a platinum fabric.

"My shoulder, Road."

She ganders at it and shrugs her shoulders. Road jumps from her sit on the bed and ushers the maids out. She brings me to sit down on a chair before she starts making her own adjustments. She plays with my hair—it's not as long anymore but I grew fond of what I had back here. It now reaches up to my waist naturally but now that they styled it a bit, it reaches just at my bust. The waves are more defined curls in some places and it's only held up in a half-ponytail with a small lily hairclip.

Road plays with a few strands before going to my necklace. She adjusts it so that it falls just between my breasts.

"Don't worry about it," she assures me. "They'll be much more occupied at looking at other things to notice your scar."

"Not when it's the size of my palm," I retort.

"He won't care."

That comment makes me silent and makes her grin. She grabs my hand and drags me out of the room. I tell her to slow down because of my shoes; really, high heels will never be my thing. But she doesn't stop, in fact she just goes faster. She tells me to hurry because it'll end soon and if I don't, he'll leave. Finally, after a few minutes of running down stairs, we reach one of the entrances to the ballroom.

"Here we go," Road says and let's go of my hand. She walks a few feet up to the curtain that separates our obscure hiding spot from the bright outside. "Off you go." But my feet are frozen in place. And she notices this. "What's wrong?"

"Is…this really okay?" I ask. My hands reach down to my skirts and hold them in tight fists. "Before when I barged in, he got in trouble."

"That was my bad." My eyes snap up to Road who's staring at me. "I was playing around to get you in trouble that time and well, he got caught up by his own volition. It'll be different now, though. Father won't interfere or get mad, I'll make sure of that."

I give her a nod and smile before coming to hold the curtains open as she lets go. "Thanks, Road."

"That's something I thought I'd ever hear from you," she says with a chuckle but then smiles. "I still don't like you but…I suppose you're okay if you make Tyki happy."

A grin comes to my lips at that. "I doubt that." But I don't wait for an answer and instead step into the sea of people.

I had forgotten what this felt like. It's crowded, it is way too loud, and it smells too much of perfume and wine. There's something I notice though when I step into more people's sight: they're talking. Not about anything trivial though, I can hear them talking about me. I notice as I walk through the crowd that many women are dressed much like me. And here I thought I was showing way too much. But none of them have a scar showing like I do. It certainly calls attention to me.

_I think that's what Road wanted too. For me to stand out._

Not in a bad way, however. I can tell that although the women are talking smack, the men aren't. Quite on the contrary, actually, because some have already come up to me to ask me to dance. I turn them down as politely as I can and continue to tread my way through the Red Sea to find him. But it's much harder than I thought, especially without having some sort of general direction of where he was.

If I recall correctly, the last time I was in one of these most of the time Tyki either spent it chatting or dancing. And seeing as this was almost over, the girls would be lining up to take his last dance. Basically like a high school crowd trying to get at the hot guy who's graduating. That makes a sick feeling grow in the pit of my stomach but I ignore it knowing what it is and instead make my way to the dance floor.

Once I push through the girls in a grand circle like hunters waiting on their prey, I can't believe my eyes. There's a mix of emotions that go through me at the scene in front of me. The first is gleefulness from finally seeing Tyki again. It's odd to see him like this again but not unwelcomed. He's just as handsome as I recall and although different, his long hair is just as flattering. The second, and what I had definitely not prepared myself for, was jealousy from seeing him dance with some pretty blonde thing.

_Don't run in, Reina. Don't do something stupid._

But it's hard to listen to my brain when I see the little girl pressing herself closer to him as they twirl around on the dance floor.

_Don't—!_

Fuck it.

There's no stopping me when I push through the rest of the girls blocking my way and step onto the floor. Not many are dancing so it's easy to get closer to them and once I can see they're coming my way, I speak loudly over the music.

"I see you didn't miss me _that_ much."

The dance stops more abruptly than I thought it would have. It stops, nonetheless, and the blonde stares confused first at Tyki and then at me. Tyki's the one that turns to face me baffled and it completely shows on his face.

"Rei—"

Before he can say anything, I grab his hand that's holding the young girl's and separate them to make him stand by my side. I turn to her and give her a small smile. "Sorry, little miss, but I'll be taking Lord Mikk back home. After all—" just then, I can hear someone from the stage saying that this marks the end of the night. "It seems the ball is over." Without any more to say, I pull Tyki behind me as we tread through the crowd that's heading to the exit of the mansion.

But it's too claustrophobic to talk here so instead I duck under one of the curtains that seemed to give into a hallway like the one that Road brought me through. Even then I keep walking until I don't hear the noise of the crowd anymore. Once far enough for silence to reign, I let go of him and take some deep breaths to calm myself.

_Just tell him, Reina._

With that weak constitution, I turn ready to tell him everything but can't. And it's not because I don't want to— _although I'm very motivated not to_ —it's because he surprises me by giving me a huge embrace. His arms wrap around me and immediately hold me tight. He bends down and buries his face in the crook of my neck. The warmth of his breath tickles my skin but it doesn't bother me.

Just then he takes the biggest breath I've ever heard him take and holds me even tighter. "You're real."

A chuckle comes out of me from that childish comment. "Of course I'm real. I'm here, aren't I?"

"Yeah," he says, sighing relieved but doesn't let me go. "You are."

Again, it doesn't bother me. It's actually rather comforting and my hands reach out towards his back to return the gesture. At the back of my mind, I remember that Road mentioned Tyki having to leave with the Earl and it's something that vaguely comes to me.

"We have to go meet the Earl," I tell him in a quiet whisper. "You came here with him, didn't you?"

"Just…a few more seconds," he says.

I oblige gladly and simply hold him as he is. It's not something that I've experienced before from him. He's held me before but in one of two ways: a very calm and collected manner or in a very lust driven stupor. But this…he's never been like this.

Like he's afraid to let go. Like he's afraid I'll go away.

_Like he's afraid to lose me._

In the end, Tyki takes a deep breath before pulling away. His hand reaches up to my cheek and caresses it before cupping it; before I can say anything he dips and brushes his lips against mine in a small kiss. I don't object though and return it. It lasts a few seconds but those few seconds are blissful.

"We should go," I finally tell him.

He nods and smiles before stepping up ahead. In an instant, his whole demeanor changes back to what I saw out in the ball yet not as fake before he offers his arm to me.

"Shall we then?" he asks. There's only a nod from me before he takes the lead and guides me out of the place. It takes us a few minutes to reach the front where a carriage is already waiting for us. We climb inside, me going first, and I'm surprised at seeing someone already inside.

I start to stand again but Tyki comes quickly and tells me to sit back down. There's not much to argue if he seems to know the person but then I recall it again. This man is actually that fatso.

_Fuck, he looks so…normal._

The carriage starts on its way a few seconds later and we sit in torturous silence, Tyki and I on one side and the Millennium Earl right across. It's broken but not by the one I appreciated breaking it.

"I can see you are doing quite well, Pooch."

My hand tightens on my skirts at hearing that name again. It's been a month for me since last hearing it and it hits me very heavily now. I'm back to this, being a pet to the Noah. Well, at least to the ones that don't see me as a human being.

"Yes, it took a while but I'm well now," I assure him. The way it comes out of my mouth seems harmless enough but the tone of it does wonders. It's almost like I'm boasting that I'm back and healthy.

_Back to fuck up his plans again._

"That you are," he agrees. "I was also told about what you did to aid Tyki-pon. Such a selfless yet worthless sacrifice."

"Just acted on my instincts," I say in disagreement. "Nothing worthless in that."

"Oh but it is," he retorts. "After all, you are only prolonging the inevitable."

There's nothing for me to say to that. Tyki doesn't seem bothered by the allusions the Earl and I are making. The Earl seems aware of my powers, though—so much for my anonymity. But he doesn't seemed troubled about it. In fact, from what he's said, I think he expected me to do what I did. That's why he called it selfless. But it's the worthless portion that bothers me most.

_Will his Noah devour him regardless of what I do in the end?_

My hands ball up my skirt even more and I swear I'll tear it. It's then that Tyki places a hand over my own and makes me look up. He's expressionless but he's clearly trying not to let anything else show before the Earl. But it's more than enough to calm me a little.

More long and excruciating minutes of silence go by but the mansion we were headed to turns out to be much closer than I expected. Thank goodness for that. Once we're out, the Earl excuses himself to go do whatever the hell he's going to do.

_Really, I just don't want to be near him anymore._

Instead, I follow Tyki through the mansion I've never seen. Must be where the Earl resides when he just doesn't want to be bothered. But then again, I thought that was what the Ark was for. More than likely it's just another house that the Kamelot's own that he uses. Yeah, that sounds slightly more plausible.

But it all goes out of my mind the moment Tyki opens the door to a room I presume to be his. He lets me go in first and I take the invitation gladly. For one I'm tired of the dress and I really hope there's some clothes for me here.

But just when I hear the door close and turn to ask Tyki, he catches me off guard again. This time he captures my open mouth just about to ask and sweeps me completely off with the kiss. His tongue clashes against mine and I feel a pleasant heat starting to build below my stomach. Because of how much I missed this, I let him take over not minding my usual need to play for dominance.

This, however, makes him pull back slightly albeit clearly forcefully. It's easy to tell because of how, despite having parted from me, he's still holding onto the small of my back.

"What, no arguing this time?" His tone is playful and the shit-eating grin on his lips makes me smack his chest but also makes me smile.

"If you have to know," I say, letting my hands rest on his chest while my eyes stare at a wrinkle on his clothes to keep them occupied and not let myself be intimidated. "I've had time to think. Two weeks actually."

"Not funny," he comments and drags me along so that he can sit at the edge of the bed. He pulls me between his legs and I stand there while he stares a little bit up at me. It's then that I notice that his eyes aren't brown anymore. Aside from the fact that his skin has remained ashen, his eyes, too, haven't changed from the pools of gold that are so mesmerizing.

"I'm being serious," I tell him and reach out to play with the long strands of hair that fall around his face. I don't understand why I'm being reluctant to tell him about the whole 'different worlds' thing but for now it isn't a good conversation topic. Let's just go with the short version. "It was a haze, the time I was out. But I was still conscious of my thoughts. And through it all, there wasn't a time that I didn't miss this. There wasn't a single second that I didn't think of you and the care you gave me." A silly thought comes to me and I cringe my nose at it before voicing it. "Funny how those times shadowed the ones where you treated me like crap."

"That was before…" I barely hear the start of his sentence because he mumbles the rest.

"Before what?" I ask.

"Is that all you had to think about?" he asks. He's clearly dodging my question but I ignore it and continue where I left off.

"Not really." I took a deep breath and let my hand rests on his shoulders. "I've made up my mind, too. It's my choice and I've decided to leave my old life behind. Everything about it. I won't forget it because they're all a part of my life but I'm willing to put them aside to make room for something else to become a bigger part of it."

"What do you mean by you left it behind?" he asks and looks up at me.

All I give him is a smile before shaking my head. "All you need to know about it is that I've given it up for good and I want to stay here. And despite what I lost, I know there's much to gain now. What I get from it will all depend on me."

Tyki scoffs and smiles while leaning his chin on my bosom to gander up at me. "You've really changed a lot from the girl that would blame herself for everything. You've gotten stronger, it seems."

"If I have then I've got you to thank for it too," I say with a smile. "You taught me that it's okay to accept myself as I am. And for that—" I step back to let his head fall before reaching up with my hands to raise his head. Just then I give him a kiss and savor the gentleness that he gives as well. It lasts for a few seconds before I pull back and smile at him. "Thank you, Tyki."

* * *

The separation of that gentle kiss is far more than Tyki can bear with. He gives no warning and instead stands up to reclaim her mouth, this time more roughly. Despite having broken it before himself, he really hadn't wanted it to end.

He was sick and tired from worry. For days on end that felt like eternity, he'd watch her lying limply and almost lifeless in a bed. There was no trace of her ringing laughter or mocking grin; he couldn't even recall the gleam of her emerald eyes when he looked at her. Everything got swept away the moment he regained control a few weeks ago.

That time he felt nothing but pain from whatever was trying to take control of him. But then, out of nowhere, he felt a reprieve. Some sort of calming and soothing sensation that coursed through him and gave him enough strength to regain control. But at doing so he witnessed the one thing that had plagued his mind for the past weeks. He saw Reina's brief smile before she collapsed. The urgency in him then was the most intense he'd ever felt. There was nothing in Tyki's mind except getting her better. But even his determination to keep her alive was nothing compared to something he couldn't control.

The mere fact that he couldn't bring her back when she had gone comatose.

But now all those morbid feelings and thoughts were gone. At first, in the ball, he thought that he was dreaming. Hallucinating even. But the moment she touched his hand, he started having doubts. The instant he held her and could finally feel her and hear her, he knew it was true.

_She's here._

To Tyki, it was really unimaginable that she had come to be this meaningful to him. He had little things that mattered in his world and this woman had become one of the most important without him noticing. To her, he didn't seem to be a murderous Noah nor a measly vagabond.

It became clear that to Reina he was just Tyki.

This tiny, sassy, most obnoxious, and most loving woman had come to mean the world to him.

_And I'm never letting her go again._

Finally, after minutes of just indulging in the taste of her lips, he decided to continue down her bare neck and collar bone. Each kiss and bite he gave upon her soft skin made Reina's voice barely come out. Tyki didn't seem to listen though and instead reveled in the sweetness of her taste. No matter how many times he did the same thing, he wasn't tired of it. Her taste and scent were so intoxicating that he would never tire of them.

As he continued to leave mark after mark down her skin, he rid himself of his gloves and went ahead to undo the ties on the back of her dress. She was so distracted by his ministrations that she didn't seem to mind that he was quickly undressing her.

It wasn't until he had undone the last lace that he could finally pull the gown off of her. Reina let out a yelp at feeling the gelid air hit her skin as Tyki slipped the gown off from her shoulders and from her hips until it fell completely off of her, pooling at her feet.

"No fair," she whispers and tries to cover herself childishly. "You're still dressed."

Because of the dress that Road had made her wear, she had no option but go without a brassier. Not only did she convince her of that but the wretched kid also made her wear black lace panties and stockings. Reina had a hard time remembering that the kid was actually a woman much older than her. And she had clearly anticipated this would happen.

Tyki took in the view as she stood there trying to cover as much as she could. But at hearing that as her one excuse, he quickly began undoing his bow tie and removing as much clothes as fast as he could. Taking the chance, Reina came closer and began kissing him to keep him distracted from her bareness. This, luckily, didn't hinder him much and soon he was just as nude as she was from above the belt.

His hands barely finished undoing the two buttons of his trousers when Reina pushed him back until he hit the bed. His knees buckled and Tyki quickly fell down a little surprised by the sudden action just before Reina straddled him. Just then he grimaced at the sudden pain that struck through his body at such force being applied to his chest.

"I'm sorry, did I—" but her sentence came short when her eyes finally took a gander at his bare chest.

Tyki gave her a wry smile having forgotten about them. "Ugly, aren't they?"

Her small hands reached out to touch the large scars that marred almost all of the right side of his chest now. Now only that but also the large stigmata that painted his neck and wrists. Tyki felt a soothing warmth on his body with every gentle touch Reina gave. Wherever her fingers touched it just felt relieving.

"Are all these…from what Allen did to you?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"They still hurt, too, don't they?"

His hand reached up to cover hers just where the scar was biggest, near his shoulder and held it there. "Not now, they don't." Holding her back with his other hand, he sat up but still had her straddling him. He kissed the one that she had on her left shoulder tenderly before resting his cheek against it. "It's easy to forget about the pain when I'm with you."

"Then it _does_ hurt." Out of the blue, Reina wrapped her arms around his head to pull him close to her bosom. Holding him there, she tucked his head underneath the crook of her neck. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" he asks, completely bewildered that she even apologized for something like that.

"If only I had protected you then or done a better job at stopping him, you wouldn't be hurting right now."

"It wasn't your fault, my queen," he whispers while holding her by her back. "The one who pushed you aside was me."

_There was no way I would let him or anybody hurt you, my queen._

But he kept those thoughts to himself and instead focused on relieving her of her worries and began kissing her once more.

Tonight he wouldn't hold back. Reina was being more forth than ever and he didn't want to wait any longer. Before he was willing to because there was always the chance of 'tomorrow.' But then when that tomorrow was taken away from him, he hated himself for not trying harder. Loathed himself completely for not having valued enough the warmth she gave him.

_I won't let you slip away again._

But first he had to be certain of something. Tyki let go of her mouth for a brief second to let their foreheads rest upon each other. "I've been patient enough for your sake, Reina. But I've grown fearful after what's happened. Which is why I'm asking you now, are you absolutely sure about this?"

Her eyes widened slightly before turning gentle with a smile beaming from her. Out of nowhere, she held him even tighter; it was even hard enough to make his scars hurt a little but the pain quickly went away. And how could it not when he finally heard the two words he wanted to hear the most.

"I am."

With that freedom, Tyki let it all pour out. He kissed her fully and while at it lifted her up by holding her thighs with his hands and turned their position over. Tyki laid her carefully on the bed and took in the glorious scene in front of him. Reina's face was flustered over by a pinkish hue and her eyes had begun to get glazed over, her pupils slightly dilated.

But this was but a glimpse of before. He's already gotten her like this once but it'd ended abruptly and without notice. It was odd, now that he thought about it; it seemed that every opportunity he found to be with her, it'd be ridiculously interrupted in some form or another. He hoped now that he had her consent that nothing in the world would stop this stupendous moment.

Tyki didn't waste another second and immediately began what would be a long night for them. Not having had enough from before, he relished first in tasting every inch of her body. He gave little attention to her neck and collar bone having had marked her plenty there already. Instead he licked his way down from her neck to her right breast and began to tease her nipple with his tongue.

Reina gasped loudly and held his head with one hand to get him to keep going while the other held the silk sheets underneath them tightly in a fist. Tyki with his other hand, went ahead to caress her thighs to distract her. The amount of attention he was putting was just heightening Reina's senses and feeding the heat that had started to mount just underneath her stomach.

Tyki kissed and licked his way over to her other breast before gently holding the one left behind with his left hand, touching and caressing it slowly. Her breathing started to get shallow and her eyes were dilated to the brim; he could tell that he was already doing a mighty fine job at arousing her.

_Perhaps now's a good time to start then._

Lifting his mouth from her breast, he came up to catch her mouth in another kiss. Her hands grasped his neck tightly and desperately as they lost themselves in it. Tyki, however, was the most conscious of the two and with his hands began to unhitch the lace that was around her hips. He used his left hand just at her tailbone to raise her enough to let his right slip the garment just below the apex of her thighs. At noticing what he was doing, Reina reacted and lifted her hips even more. They separated enough for Reina to put her legs together and let him finally rid her of the garments.

Tyki didn't let seconds pass before he began to trail his lips down her again. First from her breasts, down her stomach, and finally to her hips where he nipped at them. Reina's breath hitched and she let out a particularly loud moan when Tyki started to bite and kiss at her right thigh. It was torturous the miniscule attention that he put on every single patch of skin.

Wherever his lips touched, they set her skin on fire and that mixed with the rest that was starting to bother her greatly. Tyki was relentless with it until he took off the stocking. He came to the other and scraped his teeth against the edge of the left one, making her yelp.

This was getting to be more torture than she could bear.

"Ty—ki…please—"

Tyki lifted her left leg to take off the final piece of clothing on her and took the sight of her completely in. He grinned and hoisted it over his shoulder as he sat lower on the bed.

"Patience, love," he purrs. With his mouth closer to it, he goes on to do the same torment from before on her left thigh. He loved seeing how every lick, kiss, or breath would make her jerk so badly from wanting more. And he absolutely loved how she was so forlorn about it that she was even touching herself.

Her tiny hands cupped at her own breasts and toyed around coyly with her nipples. But it amazed him that she had still a modicum of control as to not do the same with what ached most. It just went to tell how much she wanted _him_ to do it.

_Then let's give my precious queen what she desires._

Tyki grins mischievously and trails along with his tongue until he reaches the apex of her thighs just above her entrance. Reina shivers slightly when he lets a finger run along. The coolness of it against the heat that she harbored made shivers run down her spine. Without noticing, her hips jerked upward in an attempt to let it slip in her but Tyki was quick to retract it. He grinned and used his left hand to push her raised hips a bit closer to the bed.

"Relax, love," he tells her with a hoarse voice and brings his head closer once more. "You'll get what you desire soon enough."

With his right hand, he lifts her other leg and places it further to part them. Reina's mind wonders quickly to what he's doing but it all goes blank instantly when she feels his tongue tasting her.

Reina gasps loudly letting her voice slip through at the unexpected sensation as Tyki runs his tongue devilishly along her. Every time he reached up to one place, her back arced to allow him more space. He continues doing so and she hated him for playing with her like this. Tyki's tongue just teases her but it never once goes in and that drives her completely insane.

"Damn…yo— _ah_." Reina's threat goes unheard when Tyki suddenly starts to gently suck at her clit. The sudden electricity that runs through her makes her legs tense up each time his tongue brushes against. Almost like a tiny shock that runs from the sole of her feet to the base of her stomach. "Ty…ki…"

Finally hearing her pleas, he raises his head to simply kiss at her thigh before letting it rest from its position. He goes to kiss his way up from her stomach to her neck. His ears come so close to her mouth that he can clearly hear the shallowness of her breathing and the hotness of it as well.

"You make the most adorable moans," he whispers hoarsely against her ear. He licks her earlobe exalting one of those noises he loved. His hand wonders up her thigh once more and brushes against her entrance lathing his finger with it. "But I want to hear you scream from pleasure."

With no warning, Tyki introduces his index finger into her and at feeling it, Reina yells loudly. Her arms instantly wrap around onto his back and her nails dig into it making him grimace. Feeling he might have hurt her, he pulls it out and looks up at her.

"Are you all right?" Reina quickly shakes her head and he puts his attention on kissing her lips gently. "I'm sorry, my queen."

"I meant to tell you before too," she says with a shallow chuckle. She stares at him and gives him a small smile. "I'm…very sensitive."

He gives her forehead a kiss tasting the thin layer of sweat that had started to appear. "Then I'll be careful. Anything else I should know?"

"Just…please, be careful," she pleads and grabs onto his back once again when she feels his finger coming closer again.

"I will," he whispers into her ear before slowly inserting his index back in. This time he feels what she means; her walls are tight around his one finger and he could feel every ridge on them. He didn't dare move any further and instead waited until Reina felt more comfortable. She squirmed underneath him and he felt the grasp she had on his back loosen. At having that, he arched his finger and eased it back out before pressing it back it. Again, she squirmed and whimpered a bit and that brought Tyki a little trouble.

If he wasn't able to insert at least two then it would hurt too much when they actually did it. With that in mind, he came up to her and began to kiss every inch of her body. It was a way to get her to relax and place the strange sensation; he kissed at her neck and breasts, playing around with her nipples while still maintaining the feeble pace of his finger.

Soon enough he began to feel that he could move it with more ease. But it still wouldn't be enough to place two. He needed to calm her even more.

Tyki came up to her ear again and whispered to her, "You haven't an idea how many days I've thought about this." Reina moans exceptionally loud at hearing that declaration and at feeling how Tyki was moving around inside her. "The things I've dreamt of doing to you. Of how much I love hearing you moan and scream at every touch I give you."

Just then he felt it relaxed enough to insert the second finger and to his surprise, it went in without any trouble. Reina felt it and with shaky breaths whimpered his name but not out of pain. He groaned at hearing her voice say it so erotically. It was the stuff from his dreams turned real.

"Ty… _ah—"_

_No, this is much better than anything I imagined._

He began thrusting his fingers slightly faster but never stopped talking. "And what I absolutely adore…" Tyki felt how despite whatever slight pain she might have, Reina was moving her hips at the rhythm of his hand.

_Almost. Just a little more._

"…is how you say my name."

"—Ty..ki—"

She took one gulp of air before her body jerked up and tensed for a few seconds. Her legs arch like before and her hands dug onto his skin painfully until she let go and fell back onto the bed. Reina's breath took a few seconds to calm down. Her glazed over eyes glanced up to see Tyki licking at his fingers before he stood back from the bed.

Reina took the slight moment to catch her breath and let the cold air hit her sweaty body. It was only a few seconds though that she had before Tyki came over her now completely naked as well. The adrenaline filling her, she leaned up to kiss him slowly and took the chance to grab him gently in her small hand.

The slight touch made him groaned and she understood what he was talking about now. To hear him like that because of what she did was arousing as hell. She kept at it, feeling the moistness from the tip, until his hand came over her own to stop her.

Tyki parted the kiss and grinned at her. "If you keep that up, I won't get to you."

"Do you have that little stamina?"

"Far from it," he assured her and removed her hand from him before reaching for her thighs to hoist her slightly up. He positioned himself just above her entrance and pressed himself slightly against it before attempting to enter her. But when only his head could go in, he worried that if he forced himself in it'd hurt her far too much. "There's got to be a better way."

"I've got an idea," she whispers and separates herself from him to turn him over on the bed. With him lying down and with her straddling his hips, she now had a clear view of him. And damn, no wonder he was having such a hard time putting it in her. Forget that she was tighter than hell but the simple girth was something unseen by her.

But she'd figured out a good way to make it hurt less for her when he went in. Holding him with her hand, she positioned herself just above the head and slowly sat herself down. Now that she was the one to control the pace, at least for this, it was easier to maneuver herself. It helped that Tyki wasn't one to sit still and that his hands kept roaming and distracting her.

It took a few seconds but with one last attempt, both moaned in unison as she finally took him in completely to the hilt. Tyki had to hold back as hell to not start thrusting immediately. But it was very hard not to. It was also incredible difficult to keep himself from coming from just entering her. It wasn't just the heat he felt engulfing him along with the tightness; it was the mere fact that it was Reina herself.

As carefully as he could, Tyki turned them over without pulling out to let Reina lay on the bed more comfortably and allow him better control. Instead he distracted both of them with gentle kisses. It was when they parted that Reina reached over to his back and spoke.

"Move."

With that one command, Tyki pulled out just until his head remained inside and pushed back as slowly as he could letting out a groan at the amazing sensation. Reina moaned beneath him and felt every shallow thrust that he began to give. It was such a surreal sensation; just the feeling of him filling her inside completely was absolutely unreal. And yet it felt insanely good.

Soon his thrusts weren't shallow anymore and he began to thrust in at a faster pace. Reina, feeling how the pain washed away by the second and replaced by unimaginable pleasure, lifted her legs weakly before wrapping them around his waist. This not only gave him more leeway to fully enter her but sent pleasurable shocks through her body.

Tyki simply adored how with every thrust she groaned louder and louder. But that wasn't what he was looking for. He didn't just want moans and groans; he wanted to hear her scream his name. He began to search for a position where they would both feel the full extent of it.

Tyki knew he'd found when Reina gasped particularly loud and uttered in its midst.

"Tyki—"

He was so ready to come. But just a little more. He wanted for her to become undone first. With that goal in mind he began to thrust even deeper and each time he heard his name uttered by her sweet voice.

Her right hand suddenly became undone from behind his back and began clutching around for something to hold even tighter. Watching her in desperation, Tyki finally grabbed at Reina's hand and interlocked their fingers together as he kept thrusting.

Reina groaned again and Tyki captured her mouth with it, relishing in the blissful moment they were in. This wasn't like anything else he had ever done. This—with her, it felt more like making love than anything.

The radical motions made her pull back from their kiss. With her short breaths, Reina pleaded more. "I—Ty…ki—"

"Come for me, _minha rainha_ ," he urged with a hoarse voice. "Reina, _meu amor. Eu te amo."_

"Ty—ki, I—" But after hearing those vague words and with every sense heightened way past their limits, Reina choked out his name one last time before the overwhelming feeling took over her and blanked her mind completely. The sudden pleasure surged through her body making her shake and her back arch.

Feeling her tighten around him, Tyki groaned before coming a split second later and holding tightly to her every which way he could. Reina's own orgasm heighten at feeling a hotness filling her inside.

Both held one another for a few seconds before Tyki pulled out from her and threw himself to lay by her side in the bed. There was nothing to disturb the silence that followed except their shallow breaths that slowly calmed down.

Tyki glanced down at her and saw the sweat that glistened off her body from the gaslight in the room and chuckled. He moved himself closer to her while bringing her closer as well. Reina was sluggish from the aftermath and didn't seem to be bothered by the mess. Instead she curled up against his chest while Tyki placed an arm beneath her head. His other hand reached over for the small half of the silk sheets and drew them over themselves before placing an arm over her body.

Through those short seconds, he noted how Reina's breathing had suddenly become very even and deep before realizing that she had fallen asleep. He didn't mind it either for he was surprisingly tired himself. Tired but utterly pleased. So instead he brought her even closer and savored the sweetness of her being which quietly lulled him to sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Twenty-Two** _

**Blissful Ignorance**

* * *

Through my closed eyelids I faintly feel the brightness of the sun hitting my eyes. I grimace and groan hiding my face further from the sun on whatever's in front of me. When I move, something else moves slightly as well.

Not something, someone.

_Tyki._

At opening my eyes, I'm relieved to find him there sleeping beside me. He's sleeping so soundly that he seems like an innocent child. I've never had the pleasure of seeing his face like this, so calm and peaceful. As slowly as I can, I bring one of my hands from in between us and reach up to gently touch his face. He doesn't seem to notice but I don't leave my hand on it for long. All I wanted was to assure myself that this isn't a lie and that what happened last night hadn't been a dream

_And with how sore I am right now, it better have not been._

A scoff escapes me at that silly thought but notice that my brain isn't kidding. Now that I'm somewhat awake, I can feel the soreness all around my body and mostly between my legs. But I don't mind it for a few minutes and instead simply lie there against him savoring this little piece of heaven.

Once I'm okay and a little more awake, I do my best and slither my way out from his tight grasp. It's hard at first because he's holding onto me with such fervor even when asleep. And although it takes a few minutes, I manage to wiggle myself out and stand at the edge of the bed. He seems a little disturbed and grimaces in his sleep before turning slightly and going back to blissful sleep.

_Cute._

I giggle at that thought but leave him be and instead walk to the bathroom. Since I'm so conveniently naked, I just turn on the water and wait for it to warm up a little before jumping in. My showers have always been quick and although I admit I'm quite a mess after last night, it doesn't really take that long for me to clean myself up.

Possibly twenty minutes have passed before I'm done but the soreness of my body hasn't gone away completely. I know that the warmth has always helped me so instead of leaving, I fill up the tub with hot water and lay in the tub to let myself rest. As I rest my head against the edge of the porcelain bathtub, my thoughts rush to what happened last night.

I don't regret it. Far from it. I'm actually proud of myself for doing it; for letting myself take a step towards something that will give _me_ happiness. That's a huge difference from wanting something better for everybody else and not caring for myself.

But as the gorgeous things that happen last night come to an end, from what I remember, there is one thing that sends alarms all over my brain.

" _Reina_ , meu amor. _Eu te amo._ "

At remembering those words, I can feel the blood rush to my face and think that the water's suddenly warmer. Yes, I don't speak Portuguese but it doesn't take a freaking genius to figure out what he said. It also helps that my mother tongue and his have a lot of things in common, especially the pronunciation of some words.

 _Amo._ Love.

_There's no way he said that._

But despite everything that happened last night, there was no way I was going to miss something that big. It shocked me and I recall that I was about to say something when…well— _that doesn't matter._

 _What matters_ is that I was going to say something but…what?

" _I love you too."_

Without meaning to my head bangs back against the porcelain and I hear something crack slightly. My hands immediately come up to the back of my head before I groan and sit up a little in the water. As I try to alleviate the great pain that I just so stupidly caused myself, the embarrassment doesn't stop.

Shit, I can't believe I was actually about to say those words to him last night. Appropriately so, yes. I won't deny that I don't feel greatly for him— _could be that I_ do _love him_ —but I can't fathom why I would stop myself so abruptly from saying it like last night. Especially seeing the circumstances we were in.

For sure I know it hasn't happened before. Never once have a not said to someone how I feel about them. In fact, after being adopted, I became more straight-forth than ever and always tended to speak my mind. And yet I stopped myself whether I knew I was doing it or not.

What I want to know now is…why?

_I'm scared._

The voice I hear in my head is mine and it suddenly brings a whole lot of clarity to the picture.

Fear. The one thing that's been ever so present in my life—can't believe it's stricken again. But it makes sense.

Years I've lived and known all kinds of love. Years I've seen it being stripped away from me without mercy. And it's left me scarred and fearful. Fearful of ever losing it again.

_But with no expectations come no disappointments._

As morbid as that sounds, it makes sense to me. If I didn't give it my all, I wouldn't be as hurt when it was taken away. It was very simple logic and yet—this isn't something I want to do with Tyki. What he's given me—everything he's given me—it's not something that I should fear.

Perhaps the family, yes, but not him. Not after this. The endless scenarios that go around in my head only assure me of this more. After I fell into that coma, he could've just as simply left me behind and out of his life. It would have made his much easier for sure. And yet he opted on keeping me around without even knowing with any certainty that I would return. When I did, the simple things that he did after finding out I was all right just blew me away.

From him, things like these weren't expected. And despite that he's done them time and again.

_And all for me._

That brings me enough confidence to make up my mind. If he can do that and more for me, then I can gather enough courage to say three little words. All I had to do was be brave enough to tell him how I feel. As corny and confident as that sounds, though, I still feel a little uneasy about doing it though. It's still confessing to him, after all, and that I've never been too good at it isn't helping.

But I'll do it.

_For him, I will._

"Enjoying your bath?"

When I hear his voice come out of nowhere, I jump and slightly slip only to hit my right arm and shoulder. I cuss under my breath as I sit up again while rubbing at my injuries. My eyes come over to find him a few feet from the tub.

Naked.

My hands come up to my eyes and cover them out of instinct. "You need something?"

"Mind if I join?"

"Plenty."

He scoffs but I don't hear him leave and a few seconds after is when I find out why he'd suddenly turned so quiet. Out of the blue, I feel his huge hands snake their way under my arms, pull me up and out of the water. I squeal from the sudden disconnection from the ground but it's short-lived. He steps in a few seconds later and pulls us both into the water. Now he's sitting down, submerged in the water, with me sitting on his lap half submerged as well.

"I must ask," I say with a very annoyed tone. "Where, on anything that I just said, did you hear that you could come in?"

"Somewhere along the words 'you' and 'plenty'," he says and lays his head back, easily relaxing in the warm water.

That cheekiness of his annoys me even more now that he's bolder compared to all his previous attempts. Cupping water in my hands, I turn slightly and toss it at his face. He spurts it from his mouth the moment it hits his face and there's this teasingly irked stare he gives me that makes me scoff.

"I thought you wanted to shower," I tell him and lean up to the water and turn the knob so that it starts pouring over us. It's cold at first which makes me shiver from being for some long in the hot water but it quickly changes to a much more lukewarm temperature.

"You're not really the romantic type, are you?" he asks with a snicker before brushing back the wet hair from his face.

I cringe my nose at that and chuckle. "Not really." Turning my body so that I could face him—consequently, straddling him—before grabbing some shampoo and putting it on his head. "Now don't move."

Tyki's not one to complain, surprisingly, and simply has his hands roaming up and down me while I wash his hair. It's a little hard because of how long it is—longer than mine—but once I'm done, I'm quick to rinse it with the water that falls above us.

"Why're you doing this?" he asks, his hands stopping briefly on my hips.

"No particular reason," I reply, and wipe back the hair from his face before looking at him in the eyes. The intense stare that he's giving me with those mesmerizing golden orbs takes me a little by surprise. But not in a bad way anymore like they would before. Instead I can recognize some tenderness in them and that just touches my heart. A smile comes to me just as I reach behind me to turn the water off. "If you must know, then I guess it's because I enjoy it."

"You enjoy it?" he asks with an incredulous scoff.

"I'm allowed some damn corniness, Mikk," I scold him and forcefully sit down on his lap; at least hard enough to make him wince a little. "I like being like this."

"How so?"

"Do I really need to explain myself?" I ask, not really believing his ignorance.

"Humor me," he says.

"I—"

My throat's dry all of a sudden and what stopped me last night from saying it stops me again. This time I feel it over me like a heavy veil. All right, it seems that there's no simple way of doing it. Frankly, it might take me some more time to say it without completely freezing like an idiot.

"You…?" he repeats, still waiting for my answer.

_Speaking of which…_

It's hard for me to say it out right, but maybe if it's not straight-forth…

"Teach me."

What I said comes out very abruptly and without context, so there's no shock when his expression turns to confusion. "What?"

At realizing this, I scratch the back of my head and try rephrasing what I just messed up. "Last night, you said something."

"I said a lot of things, my queen," he says. "You might want to be a little more specific."

"It was just before we went to bed," I tell him, trying hard not to let the little embarrassment I'm feeling show. "And though I didn't really understand verbatim, I want to know what you said."

"Oh that…"

_Oh no._

"Something…wrong?" I ask, despite not wanting to.

"Actually," he says with a half-hearted chuckle, "I didn't realize I had said whatever I did. Didn't think you heard me either."

"Well, I did," I say. "I'm not asking you to tell me what it means." _I think I can guess that much._ "Just…how do you say it?"

" _How_ do you say _it_?" he asks incredulous that I even said that for some apparent reason. He massages the back of his neck for a little before obliging to my request. " _Eu te amo._ "

"Oh, don't be a little wuss now, Tyki," I tell him when he says it like nothing. It's so fluent that I can't even tell apart the accents and the pronunciation. "Slowly."

He sighs again, murmuring something about how I'm being mean. I dismiss it and instead urge him to say it again, this time word per word.

" _Eu."_

" _Eu_ ," I repeat.

" _Tu_."

"Tu."

"No," he says. He suddenly grabs my cheeks in one hand. " _Tu,_ like when you say _che_ st."

"Tu—" I say but giggle a little when his other hand touches the small of my back a little too lightly making it tickle.

"I'm not doing this if you're not taking it seriously," he threatens and I immediately sober up. "Try it again: _Tu._ "

" _Tu?"_

"There," he says and lets go of my face. " _Amo."_

" _Amo."_

"You're saying it with an accent," he reprimands.

"Aren't you?" I retort.

"You're using the _wrong_ accent."

"It's the same damn word, Tyki," I tell him. "Is that it?"

"Yep."

"Okay, so it's: _eu tu amo_?" I ask, putting it all together although rather slowly.

Tyki doesn't answer me; instead he sits up before wrapping his arms behind me and bringing me closer to him. "Say it again."

" _Eu tu amo?"_

"Again." This time I notice his voice dropped an octave and it's lilting like it did last night. His hands pull me closer by the second and he's leaning towards me as he asks.

And although I know now for a fact what it is he said and what I'm saying now, it's a little easier. It isn't that difficult anymore when I'm saying it with words only he understands. And the words slip easily from my lips as my arms wrap around his neck to pull him closer.

" _Eu tu amo,_ Tyki—"

The words end when our lips meet. The kiss we share is gentle and slow and it's sweeter than anything I've tasted.

I love it.

 _I love_ him.

" _Eu tambem tu amo_ ," he says once we separate but he doesn't just leave it there. He swiftly goes on to kiss me again and begins to take full advantage that we're already undressed. Tyki's audacity doesn't surprise me anymore but it does bring a slight chuckle at who I've chosen.

Straight-forth, doesn't care much of what others think of him, audacious like only he does it, and the only one that can tip me over with such simple words.

The situation starts going much too well and since I'm such a sucker for him now, I let him sweep me off my feet once again and spend another good hour in the bath with him.

_Oh well, might as well._

* * *

"You know, it might have been swell have you told me beforehand that you were supposed to leave with the Earl!" I hiss under my breath.

My scolds fall on deaf ears though since Tyki doesn't seem to have any regrets about being _one hour_ late for meeting with the Millennium Earl. The latter didn't say much to either of us after we came to find him loitering around his room doing absolutely nothing. Instead he quietly got up, told us that he should warn if he was going to be late, and we all got into the carriage quickly after. It took twenty minutes to get to the Kamelot's and now that we were here, the Earl took a few steps ahead of us which allowed me to start up this conversation.

"He didn't mind," Tyki says, yawning and keeping his stride beside me. "Too bad we had to leave or we'd taken it back to the bedroom. Isn't that right, my queen?"

"If you'd refrain from spitting innuendos every five seconds, I might actually tolerate you as you are now," I tell him and he simply chuckles. A sigh escapes me just as we come up to the front door. The servants that stand guard alert the inside and quicker than I've ever seen them move, the maids and servants run around like mad before everything calms down the instant Sheril and Road come to the door.

Sheril stays on the threshold of the door but Road bubbly sprints out and jumps to hug the Earl by the neck. Although reprimanded by her caretakers, she doesn't seem to care and neither does the Earl apparently.

When I turn to Tyki and Sheril, this doesn't seem to be that different of a situation. Actually, yes, it is. Sheril's completely smooching at Tyki and it just sets a nasty feeling in my stomach. He takes 'brotherly love' all to a new level.

After the love fest that the Kamelot's give, we're guided inside the mansion and towards somewhere else. All the while we're on our way, Road, who's still by the Earl's side, sneaks glances over at me. The few that I catch, she gives me a small smile that I return.

_Who thought we'd turn out this way._

I let that thought go when we get to the outer gardens of the mansion. Not far from where we come out of there is a table readied up for what seems to be afternoon tea. Images flash to my mind and I recognize these scenes.

This…it's just after the Invasion of the Black Order by Lulubell. So even though I've been out for two weeks, the timeline of the story hasn't moved much forward. The Order is still in shambles after the fight then and if I remember correctly this is before Cross disappears.

Those thoughts quickly go over my head when Tyki brushes his fingers lightly against mine bringing me back to reality. He eyes the table before walking over to it while taking off his suit jacket. Arranged with four chairs around the table, everybody seems to have known why they were here. All know except me which isn't anything new, really.

So by the time I get to it, the Earl, Sheril, and Tyki are already seated down. But before I can take a sit with them, Road runs up to me and pulls on my arm. She wears a pout on her face before telling me, "Come play with us."

My eyes wonder up to the garden where Tricia along with a maid and a large dog are around. I quickly look over to the table and grimace; since the ones there are much less sociable than Road and Tricia this is a really easy pick for me.

"Sure."

"Don't indulge it, dear. If you do, it'll start thinking it can do what it wants."

My feet stop in their tracks when I hear Sheril's clear insult towards me. But before I can retort with anything, Road holds my hands with both of hers and squeezes them tightly enough for me to notice.

"Yes, father," she says, cheerfully before dragging me behind her.

And so we spend about five minutes hanging around Tricia and lounging around the garden. Tricia seems to be a little better from before but she's still pale. We exchange a few words which were mostly formalities. Despite me not really being interested, I notice that she still carries that gentility and honesty in her voice and intent.

Again, it kind of bothers me that she's so oblivious to everything like I was once. But it's also a good thing, I suppose. If she knew, they wouldn't hesitate to get rid of her.

_Not something I want to cause._

So instead I lay back and watch the tiny family cohabit as any would. Still surprises me sometimes how the Noah are able to maintain such façade despite hating humanity and racing towards its destruction. But details, I suppose.

While Road's busy playing with the rose bushes, she doesn't notice that her dog goes off sniffing around the garden. And although I watch her as she disappears into the shadows, I don't bother to go after her. It's when Road turns around and starts looking around that she asks, "Where did Quinn go?"

It's then that Tricia and the maid accompanying us notice that she's gone as well. Seeing as I was the only one that saw her stray out, I tell them that I'll go fetch her. I wonder off further into the garden and it isn't long before I find Quinn digging at the base of some bushes.

I come up from behind her and pet her to get her attention. She turns and pants while wagging her tail, not really feeling guilty about ruining the rose bush. I squat down and start petting her and cooing her not caring if the edge of my dress gets dirty.

Because I wasn't in the mood to deal with a skirt, I took a dress instead of different hues of blues and whites. It's not big but rather simple instead which goes well with my tastes. Finally, after playing with her for a little while, I take her back to Road who kneels down and starts playing with Quinn. The animal doesn't seem to be bothered by her presence. She actually seems okay with Road.

 _Huh. Guess not_ all _animals smell evil._

"Thank you, Reina," Tricia says.

"No problem," I tell her and squat again to play with Quinn as well.

"It's rather nice having your company despite the moments being scarce themselves," Tricia comments.

"They are but I enjoy them all the same," I reply.

"They'll be much more someday soon~" Road coos and taps her nose against Quinn's.

We both stare at her because of the odd comment but it's Tricia who actually asks the question. "What are you talking about, dear?"

"That we'll spend much more time together soon!"

"How come?" she asks again.

"Because!" she bursts out as loud as she can. "Uncle Tyki and Reina are going to marry!"

The moment she says that I accidentally lose my balance and start falling forward. Fortunately, I reach out my hands in time to stop the fall. Unfortunately, I fall onto Quinn's tail and she yelps before running off the second she gets free from under me. It seems I'm the only one who overreacted or at least who showed any full reaction like that. Tricia, although clearly shocked by the outburst, simply stares wide-eyed at her daughter.

Once I get up, I give her a slight glare before shoving her towards the table far from me.

"Go with them."

"Why?" she asks innocently, clearly aware of what she's done.

"Because you don't know what tact means," I tell her between gritted teeth. "Now go."

Road gives me a cheeky grin before agreeing and trotting off towards the table where Tyki and the others were. After she's gone, it gives me time to compose myself, take a deep breath, and stand back next to Tricia.

"Oh my," Tricia says with a giggle. "Could any of the things she said be true?"

I sigh at Tricia's interest but I feel that if I had already drawn it somewhat clear with Tyki then I could probably with others too.

"Not about the marriage thing," I say and bend down to pet Quinn when she starts nagging at me. Petting her helps me avert my sight; I've never been good with confrontations. "But I guess it's… _something_? It's a little complicated."

"If it helps, you can talk to me about whatever it may be," she assures me.

The feeling is greatly appreciated and maybe talking is exactly what I need. "I won't deny that I've come to like him. And perhaps even more than that but—" a sudden realization hits me then when I start thinking even further to what I got into. "As it is he's got plenty of pretty girls to pick through from the nobles, doesn't he? Somehow seems a little far-fetched for me."

"It's astounding how blind people are to their own situations where others can see so clearly," Tricia tells me.

"What do you mean?" I ask standing straight and facing her.

She only smiles before answering my question. "I may not know him as well as you do but from the time I have spent with him and my family, he has never once looked at a woman the way he's been looking at you since you arrived."

That takes me off guard. I've never really thought about that, although I doubt that it's something I could've noticed by myself. But it does bring to mind that every time I've ever glanced his way, even before this, he's always locked eyes with me. They always meet and, unlike others who would have done the same, he never once wavered and instead always faced me straight on. And although I've felt the intensity with which he bears his sight onto me, I never thought anything beyond that.

"Thank you, Tricia," I tell her with a small smile as my eyes wonder over to the man in question. A chuckle comes out of me when I notice that Road just barged in and is bursting in on their conversation. "Might want to look," I say and point their way.

"Oh no," she says quietly before rushing over to them. I'm right behind her but not worried much as I see her pull Road off from Tyki and scolding her. As we stand there, Tyki comments on how pale she looks and Sheril tells her that Road will be taken care of and she should go on ahead and rest.

"Well, then," she begins having been convinced of retiring off to her quarters. "I shall be making my leave then, Millennium Earl. Please make yourself at home." He gives her a quick goodbye and she's about to leave but readily turns my way before smiling. "I will be here if you need me for anything, darling."

The endearment takes me aback but I smile nonetheless. "Yes, thank you. And I hope you have a good rest."

She appreciates the sentiment and it's afterward that she retreats to her room with the maid and Quinn following swiftly after her. Letting myself relax a little now that she's gone and that she's not surrounded by _them_ anymore, I go up to the table and take the only remaining chair that's right across from the Earl.

As usual, they ignore my existence and continue to talk where they left off. The instant they start speaking about Allen and the Egg is when I remember where in the timeline of the story I am again. Because of this I can sit back and listen as I get a quick recap of what I read back home. Although most isn't that interesting to me, I do focus my attention when they start speaking about Akuma's true purpose and the Heart itself.

Being an Innocence user myself, I think I'm allowed some knowledge to the thing that could potentially end the healing powers I have now that have proven somewhat useful.

The subject changes to the Fourteenth and it's then that my mind works on by itself ignoring most of what's happening before me. The two recent chapters that had surfaced when I came about after my coma in my world come to mind. Curiously enough, the Earl then starts speaking about the reoccurring dream that haunts him.

Why hadn't he killed Allen when he had the chance?

_Could it be his subconscious knows?_

If I work through the limited information I got right now, he shouldn't remember anything at all. Or at least his memories are jumbled like a jigsaw puzzle with pieces he doesn't even know belong to it. For some reason this makes me feel for the guy—just a little.

When I suddenly feel the weight of something on my lap, I'm shocked to see Road climbing over me to sit on it. She smiles at me and turns to the table to prepare herself a cup of tea before turning to me.

"Whatcha doing?" she asks after the table gets oddly quiet.

"Thinking," I answer nonchalantly and take the cup from her hand before taking a sip. I instantly regret it though because of the amount of sugar in it. "Too sweet."

"It wasn't for you," she pouts but in the end drinks it all the same. She groans loudly and turns back to me again. "I'm bored. Care to entertain me?"

"Weren't you all just discussing your diabolical plans?" I ask not really caring that the Earl could hear me.

"We're finished if anything," she says and turns to the rest who silently comply. "And it isn't like they were talking about anything important before that, right Father?"

"We certainly were~" Sheril coos and sends Tyki a glance that disgusts even me from the vibes I'm getting. It's not just me, apparently, because Tyki instantly tenses up at hearing him. "Weren't we, Tyki?"

"Absolutely not," he retorts in his defense.

"But talk of your marriage is most certainly something important, little brother," Sheril boasts.

That one word chills me through, bones and all.

_Marriage?_

I turn to glance at him and he's looking straight at me. "You're engaged?"

"No," he clearly states aloud but squarely keeping his eyes on me. He then turns to Sheril, "And I'm certainly not going to with anybody of your choice."

"But Tyki—"

And that's all the confirmation I need. Despite this being a crowd, he clearly gave that answer to me. I'd need to be blind not to notice that. But it still sort of hurts that I might have been going somewhere with my fears from this morning.

Before I can doubt myself further, Road's tiresome groan brings my attention back to her. "They're so boring. Keep me entertained, Reina."

"What do you want me to do?" I ask her. "Wear a skirt and dance the hula?"

"Nah, too much work," she says but I can see the smile that creeps onto her from probably imagining that. Her eyes shoot open when an apparent epiphany hits her. "That's it. Tell me a story."

_I can do that._

"Another gory or scary one?" I ask, remembering her preferences the first time she asked for storytelling.

"Anything you like," she replies and that shocks me.

So much liberty. But this also gives me an idea; something to poke at the Earl's latent memories.

_If they're even there._

True but trying something is better than nothing.

"Okay then," I tell her. "There was once a pale man with dark hair who was very lonely."

"Why was he lonely?" Road asks, her interest a little piqued.

"All things must meet this man and so they shunned him.

"What did he do?" Road asked. "Wait, did he chase and kill them all for being mean people?"

I chuckle at her crude imagination; before I answer I shake my head and raise my hand with my index finger hovering over her nose. "He took an axe and split himself in two—" when I finish that part, I bring my finger down onto her forehead before lightly drawing a line down to the tip of her nose "—right down the middle."

"Why…?" she asks not understanding.

But I wasn't telling this story for her to understand it; it was for someone else. And it seems that he at least understood the story because the Earl answers her question.

"So he would always have a friend?"

A smile comes to my lips and I nod. "So he would always have a friend."

And he answers just like I expect him to.

 _I wonder…if it's because he, too, did the same when he became "_ those two. _"_

Silence reigns the table but it quickly dies out when Road instigates another conversation to lighten the mood. Sheril quickly jumps in where his "darling daughter" is concerned and Tyki's dragged along as well by the two. This gives me leisure since I'm not needed and I get up to go walk around the garden again.

When I reach a lonesome tree in the acres of bushes of countless of flowers and ferns, I look up to see that it has flower buds everywhere I look. It must bear some kind of fruit. I wonder when it'll bear.

"You should not become too comfortable with them."

And again it isn't really unexpected that the Millennium Earl came after me. I'm pretty sure that it shook him a little that he so readily answered the jest in the story.

"Why is that?" I ask.

"You may think yourself above us now that you have Tyki-pon and Road on your side," he says. "But not even that puny shield of yours can help you against what has been put into motion, foreteller."

"I don't but I appreciate the warning, Earl."

"Do not thank me when you are not free yet." This brings a really bad foreboding like the ones from before. "If you want to have any kind of ease within this family despite being the abomination that you are, you will have to comply—"

"With orders," I finish for him knowing where this is going. But unlike before, I have reasons to want to stay now. "Name your terms."

"A test."

This makes me turn to face him and it still bothers me how humane he can be when in this form. Nonetheless I'm still both confused and shocked at what he asked. "What?"

"I want to see what the Akuma virus does on living humans."

"It kills them," I quickly say. "Isn't that what you've been doing for thousands of years with it?"

"I want to see what it does when the cells are stably implemented on a living human _without_ killing it. And most importantly, how emotions can aggravate its activity when already bound," he clarifies but it does nothing to ease my foreboding. "You're pesky weapon protects against everything and heals you. But with nothing to heal from, it's come to my understanding that it takes you longer to heal."

"Yes, but—"

"Then if it's introduced into your cells and left to grow then I'll have my answer," he says, quickly intervening. "It wouldn't just be you, however, and you'd be foreseeing the experimentation on the other subjects."

"Why do I have to look over them?"

"Road's told me you've got some minute experience in the medical field," he replies. "Use it to document what you see. Since they're simple humans, they'll die from it but you won't and I'll get what I want. If you do comply I'll let you roam around as much as you want. I'll inform Sheril that you are allowed some leniency and even let Tyki-pon play around as much as he desires with you."

There's something that I can't believe I dare to ask then. "And if I refuse…?"

"Chop, chop, chop." That alone gives me enough reason to agree but he speaks before I can even give him an answer. "The Ark will be open tonight for you to enter the laboratory where the experiments will be held. Once you go through I'll have your answer."

* * *

After that little instance of a very awkward yet hateful request, the rest of the day goes by without much prospect of anything else weird going on. It's when the afternoon comes that we have to leave already. Road and Sheril see us of and Road even goes as far as coming to hug me after she hugs the Earl.

"Be careful," she whispers in my ear before pulling away from the embrace. "See you later, Reina."

"See you, Road."

With that impromptu goodbye, we leave and take the carriage back to where we came. The next few minutes are spend in an awkward silence because of the Earl's presence but to our surprise he tells the coachman to stop.

The moment he does I can hear the rain that rattles the roof of the carriage. The door is opened for him and he goes out. I can't hear what he says but I do notice that he goes off towards the crowd without an umbrella. A little girl approaches him, selling flowers which he takes one of before kindly giving him her due.

"It's funny," I say just as the carriage starts again on its way home. "When he's like that he doesn't look like the man who's got the entire world against him."

"My thoughts exactly," is all that Tyki says.

Sooner than I can guess, we're back at the manor and the Earl is still nowhere to be found. I don't expect him back here anytime soon so instead we head back to the room. It's funny that now that Tyki and I are a thing— _hopefully_ —it's much easier to be around and talk to him. We spend the rest of the night together—around the library, have dinner, and even idle chatter once we go to bed which turns out to be his room.

Despite what I initially thought, Tyki's not _that_ sex crazed. Yes, we still went at it for a while but it wasn't as crazy as I had thought it would be. Not that it's bad. I actually find it endearing that he's taking such care of me.

It's well past one when we're done and it only takes a few minutes for him to fall asleep. And although I too fall asleep, I'm waken when a husky laughter keeps resonating in my head. Because I'm not that groggy, I manage to get out of bed without waking Tyki and I'm free to change into something before walking around the manor.

The laughter continues as I follow it around the empty estate until it finally leads me to a small study that's thankfully empty. The reason I'm thankful is because I can speak without needing to worry about being thought as crazy.

"You know, if you could do this sometime during the day it would be greatly appreciated," I tell the voice that suddenly stops laughing.

" _Nowadays, it seems that you're way too busy with_ someone _to even pay attention to me."_

"You've done nothing but put me in troublesome situations—" _albeit I was the one who chose to go along with them_ "—where I stand, it's been a little better since you stopped giving me your so-called advice."

" _You'd do well to listen to me now when I tell you not to take the Earl's order."_

"See, that's something I would do if I could. The way he put it, it seems I kind of have to."

" _He doesn't care about you."_

"And you do?"

" _I care what you've gotten yourself into,_ foreteller," he says plainly irritated about my sassiness. _"You ruined your chances of safety by returning to the Noah instead of staying with the Exorcists. You've skewed the plans."_

"Did I now?" I ask, knowing exactly how to answer to this little concern of his. "I wonder whose plans were really fucked up when I actually chose what _I_ wanted to do. Where they actually mine or yours, Nea?"

Nothing but silence follows and I almost think he's left until he scoffs. That somewhat irritates me and I knew that if I had him before me, I would certainly punch him good.

" _I thought you'd never figure it out,"_ he says. _"It started to become worrisome since you returned from your world with so much information at the palms of your hands; here I started thinking that the foreteller was actually a stupid woman."_

"Enough with the insults," I snarl at him, tired of his idiocies. "Despite what you may say, I'll take up the Earl on his offer tonight."

" _Then you'll be paving a path too consistent to the timeline you've seen, Reina."_

"I'll change what happens in this one," I tell him. "A foreteller…what you meant is that I have control of what occurs in the story and how the outcomes come to be. I was told the endings cannot be changed but the paths taken to them can be. If I play my cards right, I could save countless the suffering that you and your family will cause."

" _Perhaps you could but this surely isn't the right way to do it,"_ he replies. _"If you would only use that little bright mind of yours maybe you'd see it."_

"And maybe you're just leading me to think what _you_ want me to think," I retort.

He lets out a sigh before he continues our conversation. _"In your world…did you ever learn the ending of the story?"_ That leaves me quiet and it's enough of an answer to him. _"Then you do not know the whole story."_

"Maybe not," I tell him. "But the countless lives that were lost and harmed because of this war cannot be forsaken. I'll see to it that they aren't. And I'll do this however I can; besides, it's not like putting myself in danger is anything new for me."

" _Fine then,"_ he tells me, defeated. _"I still urge you to think this over and not do it. But you'll simply do whatever I tell you not to, won't you?"_

"We're finally on the same page," I agree.

He scoffs, _"Regardless of what you may think of me, Reina, I wish to help you. Although you are correct to think that it is for my own merit when doing so, I still wish no ill upon you. But this was a job that was entitled to you and that's something not even I can contend against. So go ahead and do what your heart tells you. And whenever you feel like speaking to me again, I'll be waiting."_

That's the last I hear of him before his presence disappears completely from over me. When it does, however, another comes about that makes me turn around. The door that led me into this study is blocked by a dark wall with a question mark carved upon the top. Knowing this was the Earl's Ark Gate, I let out a long sigh before walking through it.

The room I'm in now is bare and not very appealing. It's not very big to begin with, the floor and ceiling aren't visible and there's only darkness. When sudden rows on the ceiling are lit one after the other it gives me a better look at what's happening in here.

Five people are trapped inside cells and although they seem to want to yell and shout, they can't utter a word. There are no bars to keep them inside of the tiny rooms, only plain glass walls. Out of the vision of the cells, is a lone metal chair adjusted to the floor.

_Please don't let it be for me._

"If you would take a sit, pooch."

The Earl's voice catches me off guard and scares the crap out of me. Once I calm down, I look over to the chair once more before cringing. "Isn't there somewhere more comfortable—preferably somewhere they won't see what's happening to me?"

"Sit down, pooch."

This time I hear the latent threat in his voice and reluctantly take the few steps that takes for me to take a sit on the chair. It's cold to the touch and that I'm so lightly dressed isn't helping much either. He approaches me silently which disturbs me but I say nothing. Instead I keep watch over every step he's doing until I lose him when he goes behind me. It's when I try to turn around that traps appear out of the nowhere and hold my shoulders taut against the chair.

"Let's be compliant now," he says and I feel his hand on my head. "You came voluntarily after all."

That's all he says before I feel a sharp prick on my temple followed immediately by the most painful thing I've ever felt. The screams are out of my throat before I know it but I can't help it. It's like there's molten lava coursing beneath my skull burning away at my brain.

It's painful. It's unbearable. But then something cool starts rushing through and I know what it is.

_Heaven's…_

"Pesky thing," I hear him say, his voice's bouncing off the nonexistent walls around us. "But it shan't be a problem. It'll take its course and eventually exit your system. Let's work with you while it's still there. Get up."

_I can't._

For some reason my body's languid and heavy. There's no way I can move it. But despite all that against me, my body somehow still tries to get up. It's astonishing and horrifying at the same time. It's moving but I'm not moving it.

_What the hell's this?_

"Interesting," he says. "Despite being an Innocence accommodator, the dark matter that I injected still answers to me."

I hear glass break seconds before my eyes come up to the cells. The doors that blocked their way to us are gone but the ones that were inside aren't coming out. It's not until the Earl gives the order that they stroll out like mindless zombies.

"Now, fight them, pooch."

"W-What?" I hiss.

"Fight them," he says before he turns over to them. "And you all shall go free if you defeat her."

Without warning, the five charge at me. But before they can even reach my, I'm already reacting. In my hand there's a little green bubble that I let slip when one of them tackles me to the ground. But my eyes follow the sphere as it rolls across the room just beneath the feet of the other four.

Excellent.

_Expand._

The moment I think that the little sphere blows up bigger and encases the four inside of itself. It's another cage, now made of nothing but formidable glass that keeps them at bay no matter how much they punch at it. The one that's left tries to get a punch out of me and it barely connects with my arm before I push them off of me.

Rolling off my back, I jump up and I'm ready with another sphere in hand to cage them as well. But just as I'm about to do it, I hear the Earl's voice calling out.

"Don't attack them."

I have no idea what came over me but the atmosphere around us became as still as the night. Both of us, my attacker and I, stood at a standstill. They wouldn't move, and I can't fathom why I'm nothing tossing the sphere to imprison them.

He gave an order out.

_And I obliged._

But I didn't want to. I don't want to listen to him. I won't do it.

Forcing myself to move is a hassle but I manage to at least get my arm to shakenly move towards the immobilized person. It takes a few seconds but I get to toss the glass sphere their way and get it to expand and encage them inside of it. But it's slow and it gives the Earl a chance to see me struggling to move.

"As expected," he says. "An Innocence user won't be as affected. Well, if it's inside of them at least. Wonder if it'll work with those who aren't united to it?"

This is what he's using me for?

_Information?_

Why…? It makes no sense. Why would he want information on the virus and humans—

_Because of what's to come up next, Reina._

That's right. The next big where the Noah appear again in the main storyline is when Alma Karma appears. Him along with those Third Exorcists. The ones who're _infused_ with particles of the Akuma Egg.

_They have dark matter cells within them. And he can control dark matter._

"By that inquisitive expression I'm assuming that you have figured it out."

My eyes turn over to the Earl and I grimace at the sudden heaviness of my body. Not only that but also the tremendous spike in temperature that I'm feeling. It's getting really warm around my body but inside it's cold like ice.

_I'm healing but it's not working fast enough._

When the burden suddenly gets too big, I stumble backward and hit the wall with my back as I slide down to a sloppy sit. My breathing's labored now and my arms wrap around myself to keep me warm. The heat's gone completely. All I feel now is that encompassing gelidness.

"Guess even you have your limits," the Earl says, his voice sounding rather far away from me. "But that's no problem of mine. Thanks to you I've got what little proof I needed. So thank you, pooch. Be a good pet now and stay put."

I raise my head that feels heavier than lead and barely catch the sight of him exiting through one of his Gates. He's gone and I hear the Gate close. Not only that but I also hear glass shattering and loud thuds follow as what I assume to be the people from before falling onto the floor. There's no sound afterwards though which makes me think the worst; it makes sense though since they were injected with dark matter.

A human soul alone can't withstand such darkness without being swallowed.

_Then why am I still standing?_

"Heaven's…Touch…" my voice barely whispers its name out just as my eyes start to see nothing.

I'm not losing all my consciousness yet though and it's very scary that I can't see anything despite feeling everything around me. But my body's not taking this any longer; soon it becomes too heavy for me to even sit up. My head lolls to the side and before I know it I've toppled over on my side.

My vision is too much of a blur but I still can somewhat hear what's happening around me. The moment I fall over to my side, I can hear my breathing getting heavier but I also hear the distinct clanking of metal as something falls really close to my ears.

It clanks down and keeps making noise, almost like a coin that's going around in circles until it finally stops completely and I hear nothing else.

* * *

Road walked into the room without knowing what to expect. It had only been a few minutes ago that Tyki had reached out to her early that morning. Apparently the Early had issued him a task that he had to do immediately. He, however, wanted to find Reina since she'd been missing from his room.

Although she enjoyed teasing him for being so overprotective of such a vicious little woman, Road could still tell that he was genuinely worried about her. So in the end she accepted the request to search for Reina herself while he was out.

And she found her quickly after she began. It wasn't hard; she had, after all, overheard the little chat she and the Earl had the other day at the garden. Although she didn't know why use her, Road understood that he would want to threaten any Exorcist if he could. That sounded like the most plausible explanation as to why he would use her without needing to.

It would also explain why she now found Reina semi-conscious on the floor of one of the rooms inside the Ark.

Walking over to her, Road noticed that Reina was breathing heavily and it was also clear how much she was suffering physically. Lying beside her and just out of reach was a small shield. It was small and round, more than likely a targe shield. Out of curiosity, Road reached her fingers out towards it but the instant the tips of her fingers even get close, a loud electric shock shoots out and about the shield. It instantly made her retract her hand and at doing so the sparks subsided.

_Innocence._

It had to be. Must be what Reina's really looked like. Much like Allen's Crown Clown—she remembered clearly—it must have evolved to protect Reina.

Road's eyes follow onto Reina's face and follow her hand that's still trying to unconsciously reach for the shield. Being careful not to touch it herself, Road picked Reina's hand by her wrist and pulled her hand closer to it. It was just enough for Reina's fingers to brush against the shield and remain there. But apparently that was all that was needed. The instantly her hands touched the shield Reina took the biggest breath she'd ever heard before immediately starting to hack out her lungs.

"Can you hear me?" Road asked.

"R-Road…?"

Reina cringed her eyes closed and barely opened them again. A grimace quickly came to her face. "I-I can't see well."

"What did he make you do?" she asked.

"Virus…in me…" That's all she could say before a set of shivers took over her body making her shake violently. It was almost like she was outside on a snow day in nothing but her bare skin. "I'm—cold."

_She mustn't be healing properly._

Road sighs, knowing that there was one thing she could do to help her. But her Noah was quickly and readily against her doing it.

_But if I don't save her, Tyki will be sad._

And she didn't want to see a family member grief-stricken.

Road then reached out her hand to the only free one that Reina had left before grabbing onto it firmly. The instant she does she can feel the radiating heat that's starting to course away from her body to Reina. Despite not being able to tell if she's feeling better or not, she can see what the energy is doing to her body.

Her eyes aren't hazed anymore. Her skin's lost that ugly paleness. Her breathing's calmed down. And her shivering has stopped completely.

She's caught by surprise though when Reina suddenly shoves her hand away from her. At first she was going to retort about her ingratitude until she gets a good look of her eyes.

There's no anger or disgust in them.

Only concern.

"But I'm helping you," Road said.

"It hurts you," Reina replied, her voice a little shaky but at least it was back to normal now. "I won't let it."

Road's eyes widened at that simply statement. The time when Reina said that she wouldn't allow her Innocence to cause harm to the Noah she thought the girl crazy. Innocence and Noah where universal enemies and they were destined to exterminated each other in war. And despite knowing this, she still wished to do no harm.

And now she deliberately refused her helped even though it might save her.

Road squatted now to be beside her before grabbing her arm and pulling her up. Reina started to protest immediately surely after feeling the heat that was starting to take from Road's body.

"Just for a little," Road mumbled, and summoned one of her doors. "Just a little."

Pulling Reina's arm over her shoulder, she carried the older woman through the door that took them back to the room where Reina had spent the last couple of nights. Road hurried to put Reina on the bed and despite only having mere minutes in contact with her, Road could feel the exhaustion that the Innocence had caused after draining her.

Reina, however, seemed better now after having taken that much from her. She simply laid on the bed for a few minutes gathering herself before sitting up and watching as Road sat back on the armchair that wasn't too far from the bed to rest.

"I told you not to," Reina said in a hoarse voice. "Why didn't you listen?"

"I'll be fine," Road assured her. "The virus seems to be out of you now that you're better."

Reina looked down at her hands and noticed that indeed she wasn't shaking anymore. Not only that but her vision had returned and she wasn't cold anymore. All she felt now was an overwhelming warmth. It was the energy that Heaven's Touch had taken from Road to heal her and purify the virus. She wrapped her arms around herself indulging in the very unique sensation that this warmth gave her.

"Thank you and I'm sorry," Reina said.

Road simply chuckled and stood up again. This time though she was a little wobbly on her feet. Quick now that her senses were back to normal, Reina got up to stabilize Road. The moment she did that, Heaven's Touch began acting up again still not satisfied that Reina was well enough.

"Stop that."

It amazed Road that with the simple words she gave the energy instantly stopped being taken from her body.

"You can control—"

But before she could even finish that sentence, a bright spark of light exploded between them. Both jumped back out of shock and closed their eyes from the blinding light. It wasn't until they heard the clanking of metal that either of them opened their eyes. At doing so they found that same targe shield from before lying on the ground.

"What…" Reina whispered, kneeling down to grab the shield in her hands. "What is this…?" Picking it up and standing back up, she could tell that it wasn't any larger than her chest. And although very sturdy, it wasn't heavy at all.

"It's that Innocence of yours," Road replied. "It's turned into that."

"A shield?" she asked, standing up with the thing in her hands. "But I don't need—" The instant she says that the shield turns to the same green glass that her spheres were made of before bursting into tiny particles that seep into her bare arms. Reina's shocked at the sudden prickling sensation but noticed that it didn't really hurt.

"It looks like it evolved after noticing that it couldn't protect you the way it was for much longer," Road tells her. "Whatever it is, it's coming from your body just like all those other things. At least you can somewhat control it."

Reina noticed the languid way that Road carried herself and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I said I'd be fine," Road answered not really wanting to deal with the attention and pouted. "Stop being such a bother."

"It's not bothersome for me to worry about you," she said. "Besides, you saved me. Not something I've seen very much of but regardless of that…thank you, Road."

Road glanced up at the girl that stood before her and smirked. "Don't get too cheeky. I still don't like you that much."

"I'll take whatever I can get," Reina said with a grin and a shrug of her shoulders. "You should go and rest. Whatever I did to you must have been draining."

"Yeah," Road agreed. On her way to the door, she remembers what she was going to say in the first place when she started looking for her. "Oh and just a heads up, if the Earl asks for you to do anything like this again, don't agree. Tell him you're saying it on my behalf that you can't. Maybe that way you'll stop getting in so much trouble."

Reina chuckled but accompanied her the rest of the way to the door of the room before opening the door to let her through. "I'll take that advice to heart then. Thanks." Road simply gives her a grin before leaving the room.

* * *

The rest of the day I spent it in the master bedroom that Tyki and I had been sharing for the past couple of days. My body still felt quite sluggish after what had happened so I had to take care of not injuring myself any further.

Because Tyki had gone off on an errand of the Earl's, I spent most of the day alone until the late afternoon. Road came back then, much better, and back to her mischievous and annoying as hell attitude. Surprisingly, she got the maids to bring a meal for two to the room and she stayed to eat with me.

And to my amazement, we spent it simply talking about everything yet nothing of much importance. Nothing about what happened this early morning surfaced and although I was curious as to what had happened—there wasn't much I remembered after the Earl let those people fight against me—I didn't ask. One because I didn't want to ruin this seeming tranquility that had begun to grow between us but also because I knew that she hadn't been there. She wouldn't know even if I asked her about it.

That was pretty much the whole day and once night came along there's nothing much left to do except try to sleep. But even that escapes me quite easily now.

What I _can_ do though is play around with my Innocence. It had surprised me just as much as it had Road that the glass or whatever my Innocence was had culminated into a shield like this one. As I held it on my lap, I traced the patterns on the front with my fingers. It was like a mosaic of a beautiful night sky. Overall it was of a glossy navy color, almost black, but there were specks all over it along with a quarter moon both of a greenish white.

It's strange but I feel a warmth from it. Almost like it's alive. But I let that thought pass quickly when I notice how irritated my eyes are. Instead I will it to go away, which has also become easier to do now as well; like before, the shield turns to the green glass of the spheres before breaking into tinier particles that at falling on my skin prickle it at entering me.

It's an odd sensation but not that misplaced. Now that I'm alone once more with nothing to do, I heave a sigh.

"Glad to see you're still in one piece."

At hearing his voice, I jump up and turn to find Tyki coming into the room. It's silly that with just one day of his absence, it's brought me a very overbearing loneliness. But now that he's here I just simply come off of my sit and go to embrace him.

"Welcome back," I tell him.

"You got lost this morning, my queen? You weren't anywhere to be found," he says, diverting the subject. Nonetheless, he's quick to give me a small kiss on my forehead before kissing my lips. "But regardless of that I'm still glad you didn't get into any trouble." At that moment, I must've reacted badly to that comment because he frowns before sighing. "I spoke too soon, didn't I?"

"Well, that depends," I say.

"Let me ask this first: is it a long story?" he asks.

"Define 'long'?" I cheekily ask not wanting to really tell.

But it seems that's enough of a giveaway for him because he starts undoing his tie. "That's a yes, Reina. And that's my cue to get comfortable to hear this out."

And after he changes into something less 'stuffy', Tyki sits with me on the bed while I tell him what had happened. I tell him about what the Earl had promised and why I had accepted which, in my opinion, isn't a bad trade. At least that's what I thought until I actually got into that testing thing. I tell him how it really wasn't good for me, of how it left me so physically debilitated, and of how Road helped me get back on my feet. The one thing that I leave out is the fact that Heaven's Touch somehow evolved into a much more physical object.

_Don't think he wants to hear about that at the moment. Or ever, for that matter._

"And you're sure you're all right?" he asks after I was finished.

"That's really what concerns you most?" I ask incredulous that he didn't see the big picture. "The Earl's doing this and not even Road knew about it. You're blind if you can't see that there're more important things than my wellbeing right now."

The way we're sitting—he with his back against the headboard of the bed and I nicely sitting in front of him—lets him lay his head upon my shoulder and I hear the heavy sigh he lets out.

"Not to me."

"You shouldn't worry."

"When you clearly don't, I think I have all the right to," he replies.

"I _do_ care about myself," I retort.

"Not enough," Tyki says and sits back up. "Which reminds me, why is it that every time you take a step you end up in a colossal heap of troubles?"

"It's some innate talent of mine, apparently," I say, jokingly. "Every other corner I turn, there's sure to be a land mine that will completely fuck things up for me in general. But, eh, once you get used to them it's hard to get surprised by anything anymore."

"You're used to this already?" he asks. At doing so, my shoulders stiffen and I avert my eyes from him. "Reina?"

"Frankly…no," I reply. "It's still weird to be in these situations. I've had a hard enough time not being liked by the Noah but also this Innocence thing isn't helping either. Sometimes I—" my voice cracks a bit and I clear my throat to keep the attention away from it. "You know, things were much simpler when we were with Eeze and the guys."

"It's been a really long while, hasn't it?" he asks.

"Way too long." I turn to face him again and ask with the sincerest look I can muster. "Is there any chance we can go back?" This time it's his turn to stiff up from the nervousness and it's a little shocking.

"Believe me…" he says quietly. "I would if I could."

"Why can't you?" Tyki then looks up at me and reaches his hand out to caress my cheek. It's a little gesture but I indulge in it nonetheless and take his hand in mine. "Tyki?"

"Ever since I got _these_ _—_ " he says, bringing his other hand to rest on his chest. I swallow the lump that forms in my throat at remembering the horrible scars that pain him even now. "It's been hard to control the Noah inside of me. I can't fully turn back yet to how I used to be. I don't think that for me to go back is the right thing to do."

"Then let me for a little while," I tell him. "I know it won't be the same and that you probably just want to spend some time out of this place but I do as well. I miss them, Tyki. I miss Eeze. And I'm sure they're worried sick about us as well."

"I can't you let you go," he says.

"Why not?"

"What if something happens to you again?" he asks. "If something does happen and I'm not there, I won't be able to do anything about it. I wouldn't forgive myself if—"

But his words end quietly when I place my lips over his as gently as I can. His concern is sweet but I manage to make him relax if just a little. Once I can tell he's not as nervous as before, I give him a smile.

"Nothing will happen," I assure him. "I'm not weak, Tyki. Not only can I kickass if I want to, I also have my Innocence. Despite how much you and the rest of the Noah despise it, it's been helpful in keeping me alive in many occasions. I'm pretty sure it won't let me die so easily."

"I don't trust it."

"Then trust _me_ ," I say. "It's a part of _me_ and _I_ control it. So long as I want it to, it will listen to me and keep me from harm's way. Would that be enough to put you at ease?"

But instead of answering me, he pulls me closer to him and embraces me. He's simply holding me onto himself and it's a loving thing that I could never get tired of. Finally, after what seems to be hours, he lets go a little before sighing.

"Nothing will put me at ease of leaving you by yourself, my queen, but…" he groans and simply smiles. "If you wish to go back then I'm not going to stop you much, am I?"

"Not if I find the exit of the mansion first, Mikk," I tell him. "Because believe me, if I do I'll be out and finding the first train to wherever they are."

Tyki scoffs at my humor, though I don't think he appreciates it that much. Nonetheless he turns to me and keeps his wry smile, "Then let me enjoy you for the night and I'll take you where they are in the morrow."

"Fine by me," I say and smile myself. "I'm never one to decline a wonderful time with you." And before I know it he's going on ahead making every second of the night count.

Tyki holds me and kisses me like he's never going to see me again. He's loving me like he's going to lose me. This tender love is one I've never known. I've never once experienced someone who loved me so thoroughly and with such longing.

It still amazes me that such merciless and ruthless man could hold me like the most fragile thing in the world and yet love me with such relentless fervor.

It's heavenly and the wonderful emotions that it sends through me are more than anything I'm sure I'll ever feel. And all I wish as the night goes by is that it never ends. At this one instant I'm sure there's nothing that could tear us apart or anything that could make it better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up, the story that Reina told the Noah was the story of 'Kindred, the Eternal Hunters' from League of Legends.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Twenty-Three** _

**Unexpected Little Miracle**

* * *

The little house that I could see from the distance seemed even smaller as the rays of the setting sun hit it from the west. The light from the inside was faint but the noise wasn't. The hoopla in that house could be heard from miles away as we made our way to it. Now Tyki and I stood a few meters away from the house waiting for…well, I have no idea for what, actually.

"You sure that's them?" I ask Tyki as we simply stare of at the house.

"Positive," he replies, taking a cigarette from him pocket and putting it in between his teeth.

"You look like someone's pulling your strings taut," I say, accommodating my luggage between my hands.

"Not a good time to be pushing my buttons, Reina."

_Okay, now I'm sure he's not okay._

"What's wrong?"

"I'm starting to doubt this is a good idea," he says with a sigh. "Maybe we should just go back."

"Tyki, whatever you're thinking, I'm pretty sure it's irrational," I reply and take a step towards the house. But before I even take another, he grabs me by my forearm to stop me in my tracks. This time I'm forced to turn around to face him.

"That _you_ might get in trouble—which is highly probable—is not irrational. In fact, the likelihood of those things happening makes it more of a precaution."

"We've had this conversation before, Tyki, I'm not some fragile doll," I tell him. "I can protect myself. Heaven's Touch protects me. Hell, I'm pretty sure the guys would do anything like you would to keep me safe." I'm rambling out so much that I need to take a breath before calming myself. "Nothing is going to happen to me."

"I don't trust them. I don't trust _it_ ," he says with much emphasize. "Not with you."

"Then trust _me_." I come up closer and lightly touch his cheek to reassure him. He only indulges in the feeling, bringing his face closer to my small hand while putting his over it. "I'll be fine. Give me some time to get fresh air. And time away from your family."

Tyki sighs knowing that I'm right. We talked most of the day about what would be the most efficient use of our time. Not only were the Noah moving around like squirrels during nut season but I hadn't been feeling too well myself after that little incident with the virus. And after I told him, he agreed with Road that it'd be better if I kept my distance from the Earl.

And when I brought up the idea of me going back to the guys, we decided upon it. I would go back with Eeze and the others for some time while things calmed down. I would be safe—at least on my terms—and he would be able to do his job without problem.

The Earl will be happy.

Tyki will be able to work.

I'll be safe.

So far it's a win-win situation. Well, at least where we're concern.

_It isn't a win for those people that the Earl is killing, though._

Fuck you, brain. Don't you think I'm not thinking about that too? It pains me to think that there's still people out there being killed by this war. A war that I've been trying hard to deviate from the plotline I know of. So far, I don't know what I've changed except that I still recognize scenes. So either that means I'm not changing anything or…it's just like Hevlaska said. The outcomes won't change, only the paths that will take us there and that's where I can make a difference.

_All that's left is to find those hotspots and work from there._

This time I have here away from the family will give me time to think things through. And yet I'm having a really hard time leaving Tyki. "How long do you think I'll have to be away until things calm down?"

"It's hard to say," he says. "A week maybe?"

"A week?" I repeat in disbelief. The grin he comes up with tells me he's clearly not serious. "Yeah, I thought so. No way will a week let the fucking fire that's burning in that place calm down."

"Then how long do you suggest, my queen?"

"A month, maybe two sounds more reasonable."

"That's way too long," he says.

"But it'll be long enough for this to go away," I tell him. "So let's bear with it."

"It's going to be hard," Tyki contends.

"But we'll get through it," I reply. "Will you let go now?"

Tyki breathes out a sigh before letting go of my arm and my hand before I retrieve them from him. I take a few steps away from him to make sure that he'll let go for sure this time. But now it's me who's having a hard time. I come up and give him a chaste kiss before I stride off towards the house without looking back.

This is for the best. For both of us, and for right now, we'll have to bear with it.

Once I get to the door, I don't even think to hesitate before opening it. The light that comes from the other side dazzles me and makes me cover my eyes. And before I can even open them up again someone already has me in their tiny embrace.

"Welcome back, Rei-nee!"

At hearing Eeze's sweet voice, I put my things down before kneeling down to hug him in the middle of the threshold.

"I'm home, _amor_."

"Welcome back, lil' queen!" Clark and Momo shout out with glee while holding up mugs that they must have been drinking from.

Picking up Eeze in my arms, although struggling a little, I stand back up and smile their way. "I'm home, guys." From where I am, I catch both of them looking over my shoulder to the night outside of this house. I shake my head and give them a wry smile. "Sorry, it's only me this time."

"Tyki's not with you?" Eeze asks, pulling lightly away from me.

"No, sadly," I say and put him down. The guys comment on how it's not that big of a surprise and start chatting away. I glance back for a little while and let my sight adjust to the darkness outside. Once they do I see nothing out between the buildings.

_He's gone._

A sigh escapes me before I come in completely and close the door behind me. And that's basically how I came back to this habitual life style. In the beginning the guys ask me questions as to why Tyki didn't accompany me. I try my best to make up some sort of excuse and although they don't seem very convinced they don't question me any further. I'm pretty sure that they don't expect me to know much either so that's good, I suppose. Eeze was one to ask though. But since he believed me for what I said, I didn't have to stress too much about that.

And it was like this that things started to fall down their usual routine. A month quickly went by and then half of the next. It was such a breath of fresh air to come back to this lively and yet calm life. Waking up every morning to the guys rushing to get to work on time. Spending every afternoon with Eeze who to my surprise had continued with his studies thanks to the guys buying him books. Making dinner and getting to spend time with them during it. All in all, the days were such a gift after the shit storm that hit not so long ago. And yet it was when night came that I felt the most empty.

During the night, everybody fell asleep like nothing having done so much during the day. And even though I was tired myself, there's still something keeping me up at night. Even now, as I lay there in the only other bed left, I can't seem to conceive any sleep.

I'm tossing and turning all over the place; the snores from the guys don't help and I doubt that a walk out in the night will help me. No, I think I'm pretty sure of what's the matter with me. But I don't really want to accept it. If I do, I won't be keeping my word about being able to stay out here by myself.

But even so I can't keep myself from missing him. It had been for only a few days but having someone to wake up to had begun to feel nice. Back home all I woke up to was a solitary room. Here, there's more to wake up to but it's still not the same.

_Maybe you're just depending too much on him_.

Perhaps I am. But then again I've never had someone accept me so fully before. It's amazing to be loved like that and it's even better because it seems like it actually worked itself up to it. It was while we were still with the guys that we started a little up that hill. Then when I met the Noah was when shit went downhill quickly. It snowballed like nothing and became a shit-fest faster than I could tell. And despite this, things worked out. The little things that he did and that I must've done went down a collision course that culminated into us getting together.

_As together as we can be considered._

As I lay there in bed, the mere thought of him by my side helps me calm down a little. My hand comes up to the chain laying on my chest along with the tiny butterfly gem. Although it began as a demeaning sign of dominion from the family, it became a little reminder of what I've given up to gain here. And what great things I can gain if I do the right things.

The more I think about this, the more tired I get. Soon my eyelids start feeling heavy and I drift off to sleep with those thoughts clouding my mind and the faint dreams that I have.

The next morning I wake up feeling a little off. My stomach's a tiny bit upset the moment I wake and begin hearing Eeze's morning routine. And it's not the first time either. All this past week I recall waking up queasy but haven't really worried about it. With everything that's happening, I wouldn't be surprised that my body's been acting up. Especially because of the virus thing. But there's no time for taking rests. I have to pull my weight around here and enjoy the time I have while I can. My two months are quickly running out and sooner or later, Tyki will call for me. And once he does God knows how long it'll be till my next visit here.

_Enjoy it while you can, Reina._

And that's exactly what I do. I ignore the sick feeling in my stomach and instead get up to join Eeze and the rest of the guys for breakfast. This morning we have the leftovers from last night's dinner. For some reason the spices were heavy on my nose and made the queasiness a little worse. Perhaps that's what sat badly with me and caused me to feel worse to begin with. So I let that meal pass and instead took up a snack and some water. For now that's enough, it seemed, and Eeze and I bid the guys goodbye after they went off to work.

Now that we're on our own, we go out to the market to go buy our groceries. We're half way through the list when the feeling starts striking again. I tried my best to push it back but the smells from all around just kept making me feel worse.

"Rei-nee?" My eyes look down to Eeze who's got this concerned expression on his face. "You don't look okay."

"I-I'm all right, sweetie," I tell him with a smile and ruffle his hair. "Let's just go buy the rest, okay?"

The expression doesn't go away but he listens and goes a little ahead to quickly buy what's left. He turns for a second and tells me to wait there before he goes bouncing off to get what's left to buy. So I back out of the crowd and instead stand aside as far away as I can from the nauseating smells. But it does nothing. I can just feel my stomach turning like crazy.

_That virus did a real number on me._

But it's when the queasiness starts to suddenly turn into dizziness that I realize that there's something really the matter with me. And it doesn't stop there; almost immediately I feel a pain in my chest, and I can't help but take shallow breathes to get any air in. By the time I do notice anything wrong, the warnings are coming too fast at me. The dizziness gets to the point where I can't hold myself up anymore. The last thing I see before I even realize it is the crowd of people blurring out and hear someone calling my name before everything goes black.

* * *

The moment that I wake up, it feels like a truck ran over the inside of me. It's not just physical pain that wracks me but also heavy pain in my head. That's the first thing that I feel that makes me groan. It makes me open my eyes slowly but I cringe when the sudden white light hits them.

_Too bright._

"Rei-nee?"

_Eeze?_

"W-What—Where…am I?" my questions come out chopped from my cracking voice but I manage to get them out.

"You're at the hospital, lil' queen."

"Momo?" I ask, recognizing his voice. I turn my head to the side and now that the light's not hitting me directly, I can open them more to see what's happening around me and discover where I am.

White is all I see at first until my vision adjusts to see the three of them. Eeze is up against my bedside while Momo and Clark are off to the side.

"W-What happened?" I ask, confused. Momo and Clark sigh in unison. Momo says something to Clark before the latter goes off somewhere out of my sight. It's the former that actually comes up to answer my question.

"You fainted on little Eeze here," he tells me while patting Eeze's head.

"What…?"

"You just fell," Eeze says, his lip quivering. "I saw you from far away when you fell over like nothing. I'm sorry I left you alone. Are you going to be okay?"

Before I can even answer him and assure him it's all going to be fine despite not knowing what's going on, I hear a door open. Now that I can move my body a little better, I move my head to watch as Clark comes back followed by a nurse.

She holds a clipboard as she walks in to look me over. The nurse is young, that much I can tell by just looking at her but she seems to know what she's doing. After checking everything by the book, she turns to the guys and surprisingly tells them that she needs to check for my other external wounds. The guys reluctantly comply and leave me alone with the nurse.

When they're gone, she helps me sit up to check under my hospital gown. It's only when she lifts it that I see the dark brown and yellow bruises on the side of my torso and on my left arm that are beginning to fade. Nida is her name and she tells me that I fainted from low blood pressure. She explains that the bruises were from my fall and that I'm healing quickly so I shouldn't worry much about them.

But I don't think that's what she wants to tell me. I can tell by the look on her face. It's that certain look people have when they're clearly withholding stuff or straight out lying. So I don't beat around the bush and ask her right out.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" I ask.

She flinches visibly and I know I caught her then. She smiles and looks through her clipboard. "Actually, if you wouldn't mind, Miss Amaro, since you're coming tomorrow for your post check-up, I'd suggest that you get a certain test made."

"What kind of test?"

"Well, it's better if I do it. I'll be here tomorrow so if you just come and call for me, I'll do it for you," she replies. "And don't worry. It's nothing really life-threatening. If anything it's just a precaution test to make sure we rule out every possible cause of your low blood pressure."

What she said sounded reasonable. But it's the way she said it that brought me a little of concern. Nida tells me again that it's nothing serious if it is what she presumes it is. So after that check-up she lets me off the hook to go home. We're out by nightfall and the guys are wonderful to me. Because of what happened the three take up to making dinner when we get home.

It's funny watching them struggle with the food. In the end, I get up from my place and guide them through what they're making since they insist that I take it easy for the night. They finish and it's a delicious rib broth which doesn't sit badly with my stomach. I still eat slowly to make sure it doesn't cause much of a problem. That night, with Eeze by my side, I don't struggle as much to sleep.

The next morning, I tell the guys about my check-up at the hospital. They tell us to be careful and tell Eeze to call them anytime if anything happens despite saying that they'll be home early that day. We agree to do so anyways and they leave for work. Once we clean up everything from breakfast, we head out directly to the hospital.

It's more crowded than before and since Nida isn't on her shift yet it's enough to stall us for an hour or two. It's after I see her come in that we approach her; she recognizes me immediately and tells me to follow her. We go with her to an unoccupied patient room and has me give some samples of both blood and other 'things.'

Nida takes Eeze out for a snack to let me do what I must by myself before she comes take some of my blood. It doesn't really take that long and in a few minutes, they're back just as I'm finished buttoning my pants. She goes on to take some blood and tells me that she'll rush the tests herself. It's a little reassuring that she tells me it'll be quick and that we should just wait here.

And we do; we spend about twenty minutes in that room waiting and chatting about nothing. Nida comes in without any preamble and with a bright smile on her face.

_Well, seems like she's got some good news._

"Well," she says. "It's seems that I was right about my assumptions."

"Right how?" I ask.

"You see, although the tests for this aren't 100% accurate, they do give very good results," she responds without really explaining at all.

"What does Rei-nee have then?" Eeze asks, obviously getting a little impatient as well.

"Nothing bad, honey," Nida says with a smile this time. "It's actually something great. Congratulations, Miss Amaro, you're with child!"

My train of thought completely stops on its tracks and immediately derails from them when I hear her say those words.

_What…?_

"E-Excuse me…?" I ask, my voice low.

"You're going to have a baby, miss," she repeats.

I didn't hear wrong. But you've got to be joking. There's no way that I'm pregnant. Absolutely not. After all, my implant—

_You don't have it._

Shit. That's right.

_But it has to be a mistake._

"Rei-nee's going to have a baby?" Eeze asks out of pure amazement. "Really?!"

Nida nods at him with a grand smile while I'm still trying to process what's happening. "I'm pretty sure. The tests I did on her aren't one hundred percent right, as I said before, but they give a pretty good guess. Something else that might help know more certainly is if you've experienced any type of nausea or sickness with certain foods."

Fucking shit.

"You have been feeling bad from your stomach, haven't you?" Eeze asks me.

"Yeah…" I mumble, my mind going through most of last week and seeing the nausea and tiredness for what they really were.

_Morning sickness._

Double shit.

I turn to Nida and ask, "Is there any certain test for this?"

Nida shakes her head as an answer. "Actually, no. But that our test came positive and that you're, in fact, having morning sickness gives you a high probability of being with child."

That's it. It's little to prove what's going on but for some reason it's very definite in its own way.

And it's once it hits me with its totality that emotions start piling up on me. There're so many that it's hard to even describe.

My muscles are tense and I can feel the anxiety that starts coming onto me. There's a little disappointment because I've always been so careful before. Always to avoid something like this. Panic is slowly settling itself somewhere in me as well. It's still a small ball in my throat but I feel it and it's not a good feeling.

But despite all this there's still a little tinge of something else that slowly overwhelms every other emotion.

_Am I…happy?_

It's weird to explain but I have little time to run through my emotions before Nida starts to tell me some information. First that I'll have to take it easy on myself and not do anything arduous. The second and most important is to eat well and not go into any place with dangerous chemicals or fumes. She assures me I'll be fine though and that I probably won't have anything to show until five months. Nida does tell me that it'll be good for me to get monthly check-ups just to make sure everything's going well though.

That's way in the future and not something I have to terribly be careful about for now. But I'm still astounded when we finally do leave the hospital sometime in the late afternoon. Everything is quiet on the way home although I can tell that Eeze is pretty excited about this.

_That makes one of us._

We get home and both Momo and Clark are there already as I expected them to be. I intend to keep this information to myself but it seems that Eeze had other plans. The moment we cross that door and we see the two sitting at the table, Eeze jumps out of my reach and exclaims at the top of his lungs.

"Rei-nee's going to have a baby!"

Silence follows that small outburst with me almost dying from embarrassment.

_Thank you, Eeze._ _Thank you very much._

The silence lasts about a few seconds before Clark breaks it. "Whoa. Really?"

"It's what the nurse told me," I say, walking into the house and closing the door behind me. "The tests and my morning nausea seem to back that up."

"Congratulations then," Momo's sudden praise takes me a little by surprise.

"You're not…angry?" I ask.

"Why would we be angry?" Clark asks, clearly in disbelief.

"It's an amazing thing," Momo replies.

"But, we're not up for another—" The two of them stop me before I even finish saying that. I can tell that they know it's true. Despite what I may feel, there's no way we can afford to feed another mouth. Much less a newborn. Forget about the pain I'm going to endure for the next nine months.

_Ugh. Pain. Childbirth._

Shit, forgot about that.

But as I sink further into my disbelief and anxiousness, the guys turn to me and to my surprise actually get serious. They tell me that I shouldn't worry about the expenses. All that I should worry about is to take care of it and myself. They sound so confident that everything will turn out just fine.

"How can you be so sure?" I ask once I can't take their optimism anymore.

"Well," Momo says, turning to Clark who only snickers. "If our hunch is right, we don't think the father of that baby will let us think or say otherwise, now, would he?"

_It's…father…?_

I gasp the moment that thought finally sinks in. His two friends simply smile warmly and pat my head and shoulders.

"Don't worry, lil' queen," Clark tells me. "Take your time in telling him. It's something that'll take some time for you two to adjust to but surely you'll make it."

"And if he says or does anything stupid, we'll set him straight," Momo says. "We'll make him work extra hard for you both too."

The mere sentiment makes me feel warm inside. It's even enough to bring me to tears. Eeze comes up and hugs me while I'm sitting down and smiles with his eyes.

"Our family's going to be bigger now!" he exclaims.

I laugh at the simplicity of his words and I hug him back before wiping away the tears from my face. They're so supportive despite everything. It just amazes me all over again the type of people they are.

_They're human, Reina. They are compassionate to those they call their own. And because you are a part of them, they are your family. It is_ normal _for a family to love their own and support them._

Yeah, I'm starting to see that now more than ever.

"Thank you," I say against Eeze's head and raise my own to glance over at the guys. "Thank you all so much."

* * *

A week's gone by since I found out about my pregnancy.

And it's been a hell of a week at that.

I've gone from confused and anxious to a bit happier—still anxious though. And there's a very simple reason for that anxiety.

_I have no idea how to tell Tyki about this._

No matter how I look at it, he has to be the father. The main reason for this is that he's the only man I've made love to since I came to be here. Even when I returned home, I still remained celibate. Not to mention that before my coma I had the implant that made it physically impossible for me to get pregnant. But that aside, it all made sense. Ever since I came back I haven't kept track of my cycles since I was so used to not having them. And it wasn't like I worried much once I did have sex with him because I still thought I had my implant then.

_You're stupid, Reina. Didn't you ever learn that to assume makes an ass out of you and me?_

And "you" and "me" is literally the same person.

I heave a sigh and let my thoughts trail on with the ideas to tell him. The soft movement from the train made it a little easier for me to calm down. We're moving to the next work place and we were only a few minutes away by now.

It had already been about three months since I came back and approximately that long since Tyki and I got together. Which meant that it was probably between then and the few other times we did it when I conceived. It's a little hard to think about that still but I'm slowly getting used to the fact of what's happening. I guess I'll get a little more used to it once I actually tell him about this.

_Yes, and that's going to be the most difficult thing I've ever done._

No doubt about that.

It's anybody's best bet how Tyki will react when I tell him. Will he be happy? Mad? Disappointed?

And even if he does accept what's happening…will the Noah leave me alone?

That single thought sends chills down my spine and a rational fear fills me. If the Earl and the Noah find out about this child, they would surely not just sit there and take it. Not just because I'm a human but because I'm also an accommodator of Innocence…who's having a Noah's child.

But even I accept that I have Heaven's Touch to protect us. Even though it's not something I want to rely on fully, it's not like I'll have much of a choice anyway. Once anybody outside us finds out, I'll surely deal with my share of bullshit. And if I have to I'll fight them with this Innocence I was given.

Speaking of which, it's been tiring these past couples of days. Despite me not doing much arduous labor like I was advised not to, I'm still spent for some reason. And I've noticed too how nowadays the palms of my hands have been very warm while the rest of my arms remain somewhat cold. It's been happening for a few days now and I thought it odd at first.

It wasn't until a couple of nights ago when I placed my hands on my own body that I noticed something. The warm energy that emanates from my hands comes off onto the rest of my body and skin like a warm ring of energy that spreads around. It's very strange; because of the energy that bounces off of my organs, I can tell where they are. Almost like I'm getting each wave back when it leaves my hands, like echolocation. But not only do I know where they are, I can tell if they're working too.

It's such a strange thing that I'm able to inspect my body using Heaven's Touch. And that's not the only thing.

As the train soothingly goes through the railroads, my hands come over my stomach and that energy from before pulsates through it. And just a few seconds later, I can tell where every little thing is. Even the small tiny bundle that's encased in a little pocket of warmth. And even the tiny pulsating heart beat that's coming from it.

It was then just like now that I feel an insurmountable joy fill me. Although I'm still scared and very much worried about what might happen, there's a big part of me that's starting to appreciate that's it's happening at all. And I'm sure I'll eventually appreciate it for what it is: something that will change my life and bring happiness to it.

_Just like it brought happiness to Papa's and Mama's._

And just like they did, I will do whatever I have to do to protect this child from any harm. Be it the Noah, the Innocence, the Order, the Earl or Nea. I don't care who or what it might be. I won't let anything happen to it.

* * *

The sun is already setting by the time we get to the train station. We're on our merry way to our next home when out of nowhere a phone rings. We stop in our tracks and stare at the phone that's a mere two feet away from us. I'm the only one that goes up to it and answers.

"Hello?"

" _Miss me?"_ It's hard to explain how I even managed to be so tense a relieved at the same time. But he didn't let me answer anyway. _"Just kidding, my queen. I'll keep it short for now. I'm not far, just around the corner actually. Here to pick you up, so come over when this is done."_

"All right then," I simply say before he hangs up. I do the same quickly after and turn to the guys. "Guess I'm up again."

"You're not going to work like you are now, are you, lil' queen?" Momo asks.

"It's going to hurt you," Clark agrees.

Eeze doesn't wait and instead comes up to me and holds my hands. "We've gotta take care of you, Rei-nee."

"Don't worry," I assure them. "I'm not going to do anything hard on my body. Besides, Tyki will be there. Once I tell him I doubt he'll even let me raise a finger."

They don't look very convinced and even offer to take me where I would be picked up. But I somehow manage to make them go on their way while I head out on mine. I follow out towards the corner and turn but am surprised when arms catch me by my waist and pull me up. Before I can even register anything, all I feel are a pair of lips on my own that capture them in a deep kiss. It catches them parted and it gives them enough to deepen the kiss.

Our tongues dance against each other for a few seconds before he parts from me. My mind's in a little of a haze but once I'm back to myself, Tyki's standing there still holding me and with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"You know, a normal greeting would be great," I say with a chuckle.

"Hello there, my queen," Tyki says with a smirk.

A sigh escapes me but I don't let my guard down. He's proven it before that he can see right through me when something's wrong with me. I can't let that happen now.

"Great to see you," I say with a chuckle and let the nonchalance take over me. "Are we heading back?"

The smirk falls from his face and is instead replaced by a wry smile. "You are but unfortunately, I am not."

That instantly brings a bad feeling to me. "Why not?"

"I've got a few errands to run from the Earl," he says and takes my hand as we walk on towards where I presume the Gate he came from is. "And you know he'll get on our case if I don't do what he asks."

_Yeah, no kidding._

"So, what's going to happen then?" I ask just when I see the Gate not far from where we are. It's curious that it's still visible despite blending in so much with the darkness of the night.

"I'll take you back to the Ark," he replies. "Road's there and we've talked. She'll be watching over you while I'm out."

"Well she's as good a puppy guard as I'm getting, isn't it?" I ask with a grin.

"She's ferocious for a puppy."

"Don't need to tell me that twice," I say.

The idle chatter continues all the while we make our way to the Ark. Once through the Gate, we're back in the white city. He takes me by the hand, guiding me away, until we reach a certain door. At going through, we find ourselves in a very normal room. It looks like any other room from the Kamelot's house, actually.

"Are we in the Ark still?" I ask as he walks in front of me.

"Nope," he replies. "We're at the Kamelot's. I said Road would be watching over you, didn't I?"

And of course we'd go to their house. Makes sense.

"You know, I don't really need a babysitter."

"You really want to spend your time here alone while I come back?" he asks. I open my mouth for a second to say something but my brain's stalling on itself. It can't come up with any good excuse. So it just leaves my mouth open for a few seconds before closing it. "Thought so," he says with a chuckle and pats my head. It's after this that he starts to get ready to leave. It doesn't take him long, though, and soon he's on his way out when a knock comes to the door.

Tyki comes over and opens it and I smile at seeing Road with a grin on her face. "Hello dearies~" She bounces herself into the room and towards where I am sitting on the edge of the bed. She clings onto my shoulders and turns to Tyki with a peeved look. "Don't you have work to do?" she asks and then quickly grins. "Don't you worry, I'll keep Reina squeaky clean and you'll see not a scratch on her when you get back."

"Hoping you keep your word this time."

"I'm sure she will," I say reassuringly. "Have a safe trip."

He only smiles when I say this and bids us farewell before leaving. Road, for some reason, has this curious look on her face but I don't mind it much. It's nice to see such a familiar face that I don't have to hide things from. Road knows about where I come from, she knows about my Innocence, and she knows about Tyki and I. Two out of the three are things that not many in this world know of. And it lets me have a little more confidence in talking to her about stuff than with other people.

So it's well into the evening when I'm debating whether to tell her about my pregnancy. As we sit in the room—me reading her a book sitting against the bedrest while she lounges nearby—half of my mind wonders about trying to figure out if it's really a good idea to tell her. I mean, I haven't even told Tyki. I meant to the moment that I got back but then he had to leave right after. Maybe when he comes back I'll finally have the time to say something. But now the secret is really eating me away a little. I have to tell someone that can actually help me somehow, eventually.

"Is it over?"

When I hear Road's voice, I snap out of my apparent daydream. She's staring at me with a very confused look on her face.

"What?" I ask, baffled.

"You stopped reading," she says with an aloof expression on her face.

"Oh sorry," I tell her and close the book as I get more comfortable. "Just thinking."

"About telling Tyki something?"

The instant she says that I'm shocked and amazed that she even nailed it. "H-How did you know…?"

Road gives me a grin, "You just told me so."

A chuckle escapes me the moment I figure that I just fell into another of her little games. But it's nothing harmful though. I can tell she's just having one of her curious moments. "It's something…that I don't know how to tell him, actually."

"Mm," Road says coming up to lay her head on my lap. She stares up into the canopy of the bed as if thinking. "If it's that troublesome to say outright then it's probably a very personal problem. And if you're so finicky about it then…I have a few conclusions."

"Hit me with them," I tell her. It'll be better if she figures it out and I don't have to say anything outright.

"Either, one—" she begins with a raised finger. "Something's up about your Innocence, _again_. Or two—" She turns her head so that she's facing me and inadvertently also facing my abdomen. "Something's up with _you_."

"You're close with the second one," I tell her.

"You're with child then."

I cringe the moment she nails it. And when I do that, it's easy for her to catch it. She sits up like nothing with this huge grin on her face and it's hard to keep my eyes on her.

"Oh, no way!" she squeals while jumping up and down. "And it's Tyki's! Ooh, can't wait to tease him about—"

"Don't do that, please!" I instantly exclaim but try keeping my voice down after seeing her calm down a little. "I need to tell him first."

"Why didn't you?" she asks, turning towards the door. "You had plenty of time back there."

"It's not as easy as you think," I reply with a sigh. "I mean, it's one thing that I'm going to have his child." _A thing that I'm still having a hard time to accept by itself._ "But then it's another that I don't know how he'll react about it. I don't even know if he'll want it."

"Well, the way I see it," Road say, "it's not something he could possibly hate. He's been with us for some time now and I've never seen him so, dare I say, happy about anything. Much less about being with someone. You've done both of those things pretty quickly and it seems like you two lovebirds aren't going to fall apart that easily."

"Things like these aren't so easy to brush off," I tell her. "It's one thing that we're together. It's completely another when we're talking about bringing a child into the world."

"Yeah, but the way I see it," she interjects. "The child you'd be bringing would be his _and_ yours, wouldn't it? Wouldn't you think if he loved you, really did, it wouldn't matter?"

That one word rang in my ears: _our_ child. The sound of it just made me feel something odd inside of me. Nothing bad but definitely something that brings some giddy feeling onto me. And then there's what she said. Road sounds confident and not only that but her words are wise as well. Again I forget that she's actually a women older than me in that little girl's body.

"Perhaps you're right," I tell her.

"Of course I am," she says with a grin on her face.

"Despite whatever he says once I figure how to tell him, though, I'll still have it and I'll protect it with all I have. So I'd appreciate if you kept it quiet from the rest of your family," I say. "The least the Earl and the rest of the Noah know about this, the better."

"You're right in hiding this about the rest," she agrees. "But I'm sure once you talk it out with Tyki, it'll be easier to figure how to protect you and the kid. And I suppose you'll have me as back-up as well."

That comment surprises me. "Really?"

"But of course~" she cooed and pokes my stomach playfully. "It's not like I'll just ditch my baby cousin to the vultures." Just then the clock strikes ten chimes and as if on cue I yawn. "You should rest. You'll need plenty of that on the long run anyway."

"Yeah, thanks." That's all the goodbyes I give her before I start getting ready for bed. I don't really expect Tyki to be back soon enough for us to go to bed together. Besides, I'm pretty tired as it is. So as my mind goes through different ways for me to tell him about _our_ child, I find myself tired enough to simply fall asleep like nothing.

The next morning, I find myself in the room alone once again. It saddens me a little but again, I feel a little relieved about not having to confront him about it yet.

_I seriously need to stop procrastinating this._

But it's still scares me very much to have to do this. But I will eventually. So instead of sulking in my own misery and anxiousness, I take a shower and dress before going out of the room. Apparently the Akuma-turned-servants aren't minding my presence. Maybe the Earl kept his word and is allowing me more leniency around the mansion. Which is well deserved in my opinion after what I went through. I go out and after having breakfast by myself in the great dining room, I wonder about the mansion again.

Because I can't find anybody to hang out with, I spend my time exploring instead. I spend some time in the library reading a couple of books. I find a music room and play around with the instruments in the place although not very masterfully. It's a little later, almost hitting the late afternoon, that I find my way to the gardens. They're the same ones from the time the Earl came over and had tea. Thankfully, though, there's no one here and I'm free to roam the place without any hindrance.

The free time gives me plenty of time to think about what I have to do. I know that I have to tell Tyki eventually but I'm having a really hard time figuring out how. Most of that is because of how scared I still am to find out his reaction. And although Road's words really gave me a boost of confidence, my fears still stand.

_If only I could have some certain reassurance._

"Well, hello there."

At hearing her voice, I turn from watching the birds on the oak tree to facing Tricia who somehow snuck behind me. Goodness, I must be losing my heighten senses. That or I'm letting my guard down more which isn't something I want to do.

"We have not seen each other for a very long time it seems, Reina," Tricia says with a smile.

"Hi, Tricia," I reply with a small smile.

Despite this, though, she sees right through me and her expression changes slightly, showing off her concern. "Is something the matter?"

I keep my smile and simply sigh but nod nonetheless. "Doubt it's something you can help me with, though."

"I could try. All you have to do is ask, if that's what you wish," she says and walks on ahead of me towards the tulip beds that aren't far from the oak tree. I follow behind her and find myself by her side as she watches over the garden's state.

There's nothing but silence for a few seconds before I can figure out how to ask her without having to outright say what's wrong. She's an outsider—someone much like me, perhaps—and that may be just what I need.

"Tricia, have you ever had children of your own?"

This question takes her aback a little and I know I'm being a little insensitive for asking this but it's something I can't ask anybody else.

Tricia only looks at me with a very shocked expression before calming down. "I have never been capable of having any of my own, regrettably."

_Shit._

"I'm so sorry."

But she stops me by putting a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. You meant no harm and I know that." She goes from keeping eye contact with me to averting her gaze onto the tulips. It's not hard to tell that she's trying really hard to keep herself together in front of me. "Before I married Sheril, I was once married to another man. He and I tried very hard to have children. Alas, it seemed as if God deprived me of that gift."

_She's infertile._

"I'm sorry." There's really nothing else I can say. I know I'm sounding very repetitive but I can't find anything else to say to her.

She smiles and turns to face me this time. "Is this what your predicament is all about?" This time it's my turn to turn away while pursing my lips. And that's more than enough, apparently, to give her the answers she wants. "I see. It explains why you seem so fearful."

"Is it really that obvious?" I ask with a grimace.

"Perhaps," she says. "What is it about it that has got you in such a state?"

"It's not the fact that I'm having one that bothers me," I tell her. "It's actually the fact that I have to tell its father. And I'm having a hard time with figuring out how and most of all, I'm scared about what'll happen when I do. What he will think, feel, or do."

"The father…" Tricia repeats while pondering aloud. "It wouldn't happen to be—"

"Yep," I tell her without letting her finish. Regardless of what she says, I'm pretty sure that who she has in mind is exactly who I'm thinking of.

"Well, if anything, I suppose marriage could always be an option to lessen the burden."

"Not probable," I reply. "This relationship is hard enough with how fast it's going. Marriage will only make it much harder for me. No, right now this child and what he's going to say about it is what has me most worried."

"If that is what's worrying you, then you're worrying yourself for nothing," she says.

This makes me look up to her with amazement. Tricia only has this knowing smile on her face. "Why?"

"The way I see it, even if he does not want it—which I highly doubt in and of itself—it wouldn't really matter," Tricia says and bends down to pluck one of the tulips from the bed. "What matters the most out of this will be the bond that you grow with that child. If you choose to love it then that's all it will need. As for you, a child's love is unconditional for a parent. After all, a mother is God in the eyes of a child."

Tricia gives me the bright red tulip and brushes the hair behind my ear like an affectionate mother. "You might feel scared now about what he might think but I assure you, despite not knowing, I can tell that you will love it regardless. If that's what you wish to do."

"I want to love it," I say. My eyes never leave the tulip but my hand goes down to my stomach and feel, through Heaven's Touch, the soft heartbeat of the child inside of me.

_My child._

She's right. I shouldn't be worrying about what he will think. Although I believe what Road said and that he will be happy about it, if there's the slightest chance he won't then I shouldn't bother myself and worry about it. All it needs is for me to love it. For me to protect it. If we have that we'll both be all right.

"Then that's enough for you both," she says, as if reading my mind.

I nod and smile. This time I feel the expression being much more genuine than before. The weight from before that was on my shoulders seems to have been lifted as well.

_This really helped._

"Thank you, Tricia," I say and twirl the flower in my hand. "For everything, thank you."

"You are most welcome," she replies with a grandiose smile.

We spend a little more time talking, mostly about my child and me, but after half an hour she seems to be a little tired. I help her back to her room for the night and thank her one last time before leaving. It's early but I'm starving so I go have some dinner before heading to my own room hopefully to rest for the night.

However, I didn't really expect for Road to be in my room after having been missing the whole day. I'm about to ask what she was up to but she wins me to it. She quickly gets off from sitting on my bed and pushes me in the room before closing the door.

"We've got to get you changed," she says. I don't really understand what she means. But it's when she suddenly changes in front of my eyes using her powers that I know something's the matter. The outfit she has on is a little more feminine. The white dress is very simple on the bottom but the top barely covers her. Black, odd-woven gloves cover her arms and she wears black bloomers and dark heeled-boots.

"What for?" I ask more than a little worried.

My question catches her off guard, apparently, because she stops with her hands in the middle of the air. She was about to do something with her powers again, I can tell. And by the way her hands were dangerously hovering over me, she was about to use them on me.

"You have to look descent for the reunion."

" _What_ reunion?" I ask, putting great emphasize on the fact that she's not really explaining herself. But she doesn't answer me right away. Instead, she waves her hand to make my clothes change. It's been so long since someone's done that to me that I don't even have time to see what she did. She quickly opens one of her doors and motions to open it. On the other side, there's nothing but darkness and I have no idea where she's taking me.

Nonetheless, she turns to me with a nonchalant expression and finally answers my question while reaching her hand out for me to grab ahold of.

"To go meet up with the rest of the family, of course."


	24. Chapter 24

_**Twenty-Four** _

**Will of the Determined**

* * *

It's the middle of the night.

It's freezing out, the clouds above threatening to break out in snow.

Also I'm in a rather uncomfortable and revealing dress, and I have _absolutely_ no idea what the hell we're doing here. We're in the middle of London; the only reason I can distinguish the place even a little is because of the monumental bridge we're near, Tower Bridge. Were it not for that single thing I would not know where we are.

But it's not like that's what's bothering me most.

What is actually bothering me is what Road said before she dragged me out here. She said she wanted me to meet the rest of the family. And I know for a fact she isn't talking about any other Kamelot. No, this is a much worse family reunion that I'm not really looking forth to.

If I recall correctly at London and this late at night is the time when the Noah Clan reunites as a whole. Everyone except for Noah's Wrath who they lost during the fight of the Ark. Something wrings in me at the small reminder of that sad time but I toss it aside. Just as I do that, Road jumps onto my back and enjoys the piggyback she got for herself. I don't mind it—she's definitely not heavy and it's easy for me—so I don't really tell her against doing it. But that she's fidgeting with the knotted bow on the nape of my neck is bothering a little.

Despite having told her plenty of times on the way that I wasn't comfortable in this get-up she'd morphed me into, she wouldn't listen and took me out of the mansion like this either way. The halter dress was white and had a deep V neck that ended just below my breasts with my upper back exposed. The skirts are puffed out like hers and with black petticoats ruffled. Regrettably, she had also put me in high-heels of a black color and put my hair up in a ponytail to expose my skin to the gelid air.

But it's not the cold that's keeping every hair on the back of my neck stand; it's the fact that I'm about to jump into the lion's den with twelve of them. We're not with everybody yet, so Road's keeping me close to her and Tyki seeing as Sheril and the Earl are here. The rest, she said before, are going to come when we find the Fifth. Their numbers never really stuck to me unlike their given names but I'm sure it won't be a picnic.

"There he is."

It's only seconds after the Earl speaks that I see him disappear beneath a deep black sea and we're close to follow.

"Hold your breath," is all I hear Road say before we too sink beneath the grotesque liquid.

It's only a few seconds that we're in and out and to my surprise we come out clean. And even more shockingly, I'm now standing in the midst of the Noah Clan as a whole.

_This is terrifying. Even for me._

All of them Noah. All of them with powers I haven't the mind to think of right now as the new one they found, Wisely, speaks naming all his family members in turn by their position and given name. These I know, and it's nothing new to hear Tyki being called Joyd or Road being called Dream. It's what they are— _who_ they are—and nothing but death can change that.

Now my mind's trying to tell me to be wary of Wisely for some reason. A lot of things have happened that impair my memory a bit in the details. It's at the tip of my tongue and I can't place just exactly what it is.

It's only when Wisely badgers Tyki that I remember: this fucker can read minds.

_And that's a_ big _problem for me._

I need to clear my mind of everything and try to at least keep myself away from his radar. And it's not like he's going to bother with me anyway as he continues his telling of the Noah while the Earl joins in occasionally. Wisely picks on how human it is for their kind to hold on to their humanity refusing the Noah of taking over them.

That makes my muscles taut in anticipation of what could happen to Tyki. He battled it out once and needed my help to calm Joyd back. Were it to happen again I doubt I could do much now in the state I'm in. Road comes off of me and goes to Wisely to speak to him. Seeing as I'm left alone, I simply trot to Tyki's side apparently snapping him off of whatever train of thought he was in.

He gives me a faint smile that edges on his lips but I don't respond in kind. Instead I hold onto his hand—just a couple of fingers—to keep myself away from the rest. At the corner of my eye I note the furrow of his brow out of confusion and I know it's because he's noticed my fear.

But he doesn't know _why_ I'm afraid of being here.

I'm not afraid for me; I'm afraid for our child—the one he _still_ doesn't know about.

Unconsciously, my hand slides up from my side to my stomach and simply let it rest there.

"Reina Teresa Amaro." At hearing my name, I turn my head to the side to catch Wisely's smirk. "Pretty name for a pet."

_Talk away, dickhead, and you'll see this pet has fangs._

"Ooh," he mocks with a scoff. "It has a big bark too."

"And an even worse bite," I snarl, baring my teeth.

"You're a puny human—the pooch, I believe. What could you possibly do?" he asks.

Taking a step away from Tyki, I give him a smirk of my own. Since there's no point in hiding anything with him in my head, I just speak my mind freely.

"Well, why don't you come closer and ask my fist?" I tell him, bringing my hands up and popping the knuckles of my right. "We'll be glad to let you find out that way."

"Scary," he coos. "Your honesty is appreciated, however. Not many will come out boldly like you have. At least not any human."

The way he keeps mocking me and how he's able to hear my thoughts reminds me too much of another. The one man that I haven't talked to ever since I dissed him away from me. It's a fleeting thought but it's enough to let Wisely in on something I'd rather him not blabber about.

"Is that the same person who brought you here to us?" he asks, cockily.

But before I can even answer to that idiotic boy, the Earl bursts out into a manic episode promptly ending our conversation. Road's quick to run to his side and there's nothing I can hear from how far they are. The Earl doesn't stay down from the obvious pain he's in though and instead declares the all-out attack that they've been waiting to launch.

It's nothing more than a plan to speed up the rate of this war towards its endgame collision course. And this is something I cannot stop.

_The outcomes I cannot change, it's the paths that take me to them that I can alter._

If only I knew where those are.

* * *

"What do you mean I can't go!?"

Tyki plugs his ear trying to alleviate the pain that my sudden screech gives him but I haven't even started. It's been two days since we came back from London and came to rest at the Kamelot's before the Earl started his manic battle. We had spent it with leisure knowing how long we had till then but I didn't stop to think that he'd try to leave me behind. Again.

"I'm not going to take you, Reina," he repeats.

"I'm not asking you, dammit!" I hiss and punch him on the shoulder. He grunts but doesn't flinch and that just infuriates me more.

Despite him not telling me, I know that he's heading to Jordan along with Sheril, the Earl, and Road. And he isn't the only one getting deployed out either. This is a multiple stationing of all the Noah at locations where they knew Exorcists would go to battle the hordes of Akuma that the Earl had created. It would be a full blown surprise attack on all corners and much would happen.

I know that the end of this arc—Kanda and Alma getting away and Allen helping them and disobeying orders—is going to be inevitable. Those are things that I won't be able to change. But amongst them there must be something I can do to change the fact that so many people end up injured and dead.

_I have to go._

"There's no way in hell that I'm letting you go," he shouts, already at the limit of his patience. Kind of forgot how quickly I can go through that. Glad he hasn't lost that amidst our getting together.

But he's not the only one that has had enough. We've been at this fight for over an hour now. He keeps bringing up excuses that albeit good ones are not valid. Nothing is if I can keep them safe.

_Keep who safe, Reina?_

Shut up brain.

"Again, I'm not asking permission, you big brute!" I screech and shove him away from me when he tries to get any closer than my personal bubble allows.

I'm quickly losing my patience just like he is and that he keeps pushing my buttons isn't really helping either. My mind's in a rollercoaster of anger and other sultry emotions the more we argue and it's not simmering down.

"Why the hell would you even want to go?" he asks with a finality. "You won't be able to do anything, anyway."

"Don't you think I know that?!" I yell at him, surprising both of us that my voice is actually cracking. Quickly, I notice that it's not only my voice but also my vision. It's getting blurry and my eyes sting from how watery they're getting. These damn emotions pour out like they've never done and I'm powerless to stop them. "Can't you understand that I'm scared for you!?"

The hormones are doing a number on me.

But it's amazing that my voice stops there and doesn't say what's really bothering me—the thing that really scares me to the core.

_I'm scared that you won't come back to me…to_ us.

Nothing but my quiet sniffling surrounds us now. Seconds pass by and the argument dwindles to nothing among my soft sobs. I'm hanging my head to avoid from looking at him but it's not something he can't fix. His hand comes underneath my chin and picks my face up to face him.

My eyes just stare into his gold orbs and I can't look away. Then and there I'm so tempted to tell him. Just let everything off my chest and tell him the truth.

_I'm with child._

_It's yours._

_You're going to be a father._

But they all end up in my throat and don't come out. He takes my silence for anger and simply wipes the tears that are pooling on my eyes. And with that wipes away any conviction I had to tell him as well.

"Why are you so stubborn…?" He says it so blatantly despite knowing that he means to ask. But even if that's his intention, I wouldn't have an answer for him. That's just how I am.

"I'll be careful," I tell him, grabbing onto his hand. "Just let me be there with you. That's all I'm asking."

Silence takes over again. This time, though, it's him that breaks it.

"Don't stray from my side." At hearing those words, I look up surprised to meet the wry smile that he gives me. "That's all _I'm_ asking if you're to come. Don't get into trouble…like you usually do."

That last unnecessary comment makes me scoff from the absurdity and accuracy it carries. "I'll try not to," is all I give as an answer. And although he grimaces not really liking it, it's all that I can really tell him without lying. "I promise."

Tyki bends down to capture my lips in a gentle kiss that lasts an eternity. Or at least that's what I think. Then again when he pulls back it feels like it was much too short.

Once that fight is over, we don't bother going back to it. I'm going with them when they head to Jordan and subsequently to the North American Branch to release Alma Karma. They won't tell me—I don't even know if he knows what they're all going into—but it doesn't matter. I know what's to come and if there's anything I can to get everybody out of danger's way then I'll do it.

No matter what.

_When will you tell him the truth then? How many will you have to safe before you're satisfied enough to tell him?_

A gap.

I know there's a three month gap right after Alma Karma's incident. By then I'll be forced to even if I'm not ready. But I'll tell him before I start showing. After it's done is when I'll do it.

This time for real.

* * *

The North American Branch is quite a sight.

Despite being with the Earl and Road, I can still appreciate the architecture of this place. More so on the inside. But even after seeing the Earl in his human form and witnessing the massive attack that he used against the branch to simply infiltrate it, I'm still not as baffled as I think I should be. Maybe it's because I already knew that this would happen.

I'm not given much time to think about it though. He breaks through the barrier and they, along with Sheril and I, go in. It's such a mayhem that it's hard not to get lost in the moment. The only reason I'm even here with them is because Tyki went off to catch Allen and those Third Exorcists at Jordan if I remember right. And that means that I'm left here in this place as the Earl and Sheril take over it like nothing.

It's a little hysterical that they just trapeze through the front door after breaching the protection around the place. They lead the way with me flanking the back just watching horrified as Sheril controls every person that gets in our way. And by the looks of it he's not only doing it to the ones we see.

Anxiety is racking up in me with every footstep we take. This place is getting quieter and quieter by the second. The silence is deafening because I know exactly what Sheril's making them do.

_Maybe I can do something._

If only I could get away from them for a little bit. Even just a few minutes will be enough for me to do…something.

"I want to go explore!"

Road calls over everything, even my thoughts, before I hear a very distinct _thud_ of her doll form falling off from the Earl to land just a few steps ahead of me. The whole group stops to stare at the girl-turned-doll. Not having a fixed body seems to make it easier for her to be whatever she wants and still keep a sense of self.

Convenient.

"Darling?" Sheril asks, being the first one to speak up.

"Millennium Earl," Road says turning her head back to look at the two Noah behind her. "I'll have Reina take me. Can I, please?"

I have no idea what she's thinking or why she's doing this all of a sudden. But I don't really have to guess anything further because the Earl speaks up then. "I suppose you can. I still have some issues to attend to. The others should be done in a few minutes as well."

I don't know what possesses me to speak…but it does.

"I'll have her back before then."

The Earl and Sheril stare down at me. The Earl, now back to his goofy persona, is someone I can't really read because of that clownish grin plastered on his face. Sheril's, though, is as plain as day and it's very menacing.

_He hates me. And I can certainly say that the feeling's mutual._

But no matter how much he despises me, he can't say anything against the Earl when he agrees with Road's terms. There are no words of departure, only that final agreement before he starts heading away with Sheril following hesitantly after him.

"Are you waiting for me to sprout wings or are you going to pick me up?"

The sass that she gives me brings me back to the issue at hand and to what she just got me: time. Coming up to her, I pick the doll up and place it on my shoulder where Road simply perches holding onto my neck with her plush hands. There's silence between us while my brain starts working by itself to make up some sort of plan with the few minutes I've got spared. Because of this, I just simply start to wander aimlessly searching for those that Sheril's caught with his powers.

"You wanted to go look, right?" Road asks, directly once we're far away enough.

"What gave it away?" I tell her with a grin.

"The fact that you can't keep still these days," she says with a sigh. "This is why I hate making promises."

"What promise?" I ask, not getting it.

"Tyki asked me to keep you from trouble," she replies. "I could leash you down and save me the trouble—"

"Highly against that," I instantly quirk up.

"Which is why I thought that if I came with you, I'd be close enough to protect you if anything happened."

There's nothing to say to that tiny confession except a thank you. She's come a long way from hating me because although she says it's for Tyki's sake, I can tell that she didn't just make up this whole charade to cause me trouble either.

"Well!" she exclaims, plopping a tiny hand on my cheek. "Are we just going to stand here or what?"

With that incentive I jog towards another direction of the branch in search for those people trapped. Although I decided before this that I would stop as many casualties as I could, I don't know where to start with this. I can find those that have been caught by Sheril but after that I can't really say. My thinking is halted pretty quickly when we finally find people—rows of them against walls and chocking themselves. As dumbfounded as I am at how their veins are popping and how their eyes are bulging so grossly, I still run up to them to try and figure something out before they kill themselves.

It's when their color quickly starts to leave their faces that I finally turn to Road. "Can't you stop this?"

"I said I'd accompany you, not help you," she chastises, slapping my cheek again this time harder. "Are you stupid?"

I ignore her clear jab at me and instead focus more on what to do before I'm left with nothing but cold corpses to look after.

_Come on, Reina. Hurry…!_

Sheril's keeping them tied down. He's making them do this. But I can't break his hold on them simply because I don't know how it works.

_You don't need to know how it works._

I don't? Trying to calm my nerves enough to let me think, I remember that the Noah's power comes from the dark matter that they control which gives them their special abilities. Dark matter…is countered by Innocence.

And mine can shield others.

But…can I shield these many from his hold?

_You've got to try._

That's enough for me.

Feeling the warmth in my body starting to stir at what my mind's thinking, I simply let it fester at my palms before turning to the first scientist that's starting to get blue on the lips. Before thinking any further about it, I simply place my hand on their body and let a little of my energy flow through them with one single thought in mind.

_Just take his control away._

It's a very miniscule amount, even I can tell that from what little leaves me, but it seems to be enough because I see her hand lighten their grip before they take a huge gasp of air. The woman simple stares at me with fear—or is she looking at Road?—and stands there baffled and confused as to what just happened.

"Don't be afraid," I tell them. I leave for a few seconds to do the same to some others that are standing in tow next to them before coming back. "Evacuate them if you can. If not find somewhere you won't be found. A bunker, a cellar, something that's underground." They don't question me and do as I tell them. As I release more and more, I notice that the tiny amounts I'm giving to keep them from being controlled are starting to stack up. I'm using more energy than I thought.

"You better stop." Road sounds a little concern if I do say so myself but it's to be expected. Even I can hear how hard my breathing's gotten. The good thing though is that I've released many of the ones trapped underground. There's still more to go though.

_You can't save them all._

That thought is like a punch in the gut and sours my mood from having saved so many already. But it's right. I can't hope to save them all. My powers are limited to only so many at once. I lost count after about a hundred. They should be very well on their way out to safety if anything.

I did what I could.

_Keep telling yourself that._

I ignore that malignant thought that oozes from my consciousness and instead turn to Road when she slaps my cheek again. I chide her to stop but she tells me that we're being called up again. I suppose that even if I wanted to go search for anyone else so they can get out of this place it's already too late. If I don't go now, they'll probably be alerted about something. And despite having a feeling that they might know what I'm doing, they won't bother with small fry scientists.

_No, they've got bigger fish to catch._

So instead of bothering with anybody else, I follow Road's instructions and take us further into the bowels of the North American Branch until we reach the vault underground. There I find more scientists lined up and other personnel, a couple of them that I recognize. The tiny army of Level Fours scares me too. Despite not having seen them personally in action, I've seen and read about the devastation that they're capable of. And I know for a fact I'm not powerful enough to take them all on much less with three Noah on my throat.

"We're back!" Road calls cheerfully, taking the advantage of the mayhem away from what I just did a few minutes ago. I'm winded since I hurried here after being called but I'm sure they know why I'm really tired.

"Welcome back," the Earl calls but doesn't face us.

My eyes scan the room fully now that I've managed to catch my breath. Sheril's here, a coffin sits underneath him that he uses as a bench. That coffin…one of the Third's is there. Don't recall his name but I know he's injured. There's no way I can get him out of there myself. But as my eyes glance down to see Wisely they also catch the sight of someone unconscious on the other side of him.

Trotting over to them, I pick up the pace and skid to a knee when I realize that it's someone hurt. An exorcist…and I know him.

_Kanda Yuu._

My hands go to work out of habit and instantly brush against his skin to check for every vital that I can. His ears may be bleeding from the concussion to his brain but apart from that and being unconscious he's not in any imminent peril.

"What a beautiful kid."

It doesn't register right away that Road had fallen from my shoulder and is now sitting beside Wisely and referring to Kanda's unconscious body. I can heal him; the heat that's quickly pooling on my palms is a clear reminder of that fact. My body still has enough energy to do at least that much. If I can heal him then maybe—

"Do you believe that's the best choice here, Teresa?"

The scowl on my face deepens from Wisely's tenacity to even call me that name. Much like Road before him, he's capable of finding those damn chords and strike them hard. The shit eating grin on his face doesn't make me any happier. On the contrary, it just makes me want to bash it and his teeth into his face.

But before I can even answer, something wrings my body from the inside making my muscles taut. I'm frozen in place but I try to at least make Heaven's Touch lessen it with what power I have. Sheril sighs audibly and although I can't see his face I know he's tired of what I'm doing.

"Don't interfere even more, mutt," he reprimands. "It's enough of a nuisance that you were allowed to come and roam about. If you make any other stupid move, I'll just kill you here and now."

"Do it."

The reply is quick to leave my mouth and I don't regret it. I've noticed that having a subservient attitude before them will only empower them more. And although my speaking out won't keep them civil—quite opposite, really—it'll at least be what I want to do.

_And since you're here, Wisely, there's clearly no point in not saying what I think._

The grin on his face only widens at that thought. I come up with one of my own knowing I'll at least have the satisfaction of pissing Sheril off.

"I don't care what the fuck you do," I tell him while still facing Wisely. "String me up like a doll for all I care but I won't stop helping the ones you hurt." Just then I start feeling Heaven's Touch warmth as it cycles through me, letting me slowly regain the control of my body. "Some time ago, I was to make an oath: do no harm. And I intend to hold it even when I never got the chance to make it; it doesn't matter if it's friend or foe, I'll help them."

But all the fighting stops when out of nowhere one of the Earl's Gates opens right beneath Sheril. The burst of whoever just goes through busts Sheril and the coffin ways out of my sight. Before I can do anything else, my eyes go straight up to the two figures that emerged from the Gate.

Allen and Tyki.

I have no time to say anything because the two crash land on top of the Earl. Not wanting to get into that ruckus, I take a few steps back but stumble a bit when I crash into someone. Fortunately, I have the sense to catch my balance before I fall over. When I look over my shoulder, all I see is Kanda's expression very out of it. Wisely and Road don't seem to mind anything beyond this point it seems.

And I see why now. Allen's attention is going everywhere with the information that's sinking in. His comrades, the scientists being captured by Sheril who's a complete sadist and admits to it. And not only that but also the fact that the Noah actually want to ostracize him from the Order isn't making things any better.

It's when the Earl pins Allen onto the ground that I suddenly remember what he did to accomplish that. He'll try his worse to get him to quit the people who actually support him. If he loses them, he'll lose all ties to everything and have to be alone.

Anybody can survive by themselves but nobody can live alone.

_I should know._

All those thoughts vanished in an instant when I hear _his_ voice though.

"It's just as you say."

It baffles me to see Allen's expression change in the span of a second to a smirk. And although he still sounds like Allen, I also hear the distinct tone that could only be Nea's. His claims of killing the Earl to usurp his place as the Millennium Earl don't bode well either. And despite having read this already and knowing what would happen, I'm still surprised that Allen's capable of suppressing him and gaining back some sense of control.

It also helped that he just smashed his forehead against the Earl's. His bold statement is something that rings in everybody's ears and I couldn't be prouder of the bucko for speaking his mind.

_He's changed. And for the better, too._

My eyes suddenly take my utmost attention when from the corner I see something swiftly pass me and reach for Wisely. It's so fast that I barely notice that both Road and the sword from before are gone just before Wisely yells out for the Earl to look out. Kanda's aimed attack at the Earl, however, is swiftly blocked by Tyki.

The three start to run for it—Allen with the Third who he saved from Sheril and Kanda with Road taking her ribbon for his hair—seconds before Sheril starts manipulating the pipes all around the underground. I feel the floor quake underneath me and before long it gives way for the metal tubes. I don't have time to find any solid ground to jump to but I don't seem to need it when Tyki rushes to my side to take me away. He sets me down on a stable arrangement of pipes once the whole commotion is over but says nothing to me. He seems way more interested with what's going on below.

I'm some ways from where the two Exorcists are and yet I can still hear Road's words as she tries to work up Kanda. As she continues to provoke him, the scene reminds me too much of what she once did to me. She knew about my past and about my fears; she toyed with them trying to get me to act out and get myself killed.

This time Road wants to get a reaction out of the Japanese boy and I see it's starting to work. And the last drop that breaks everything is the mention of _that_ woman. I know what she's talking about and that I know what's going to happen only brings a sadness in me.

They're just kids. They shouldn't have to suffer so much. It's just not fair.

_It's not about fairness, Reina. It's about the reality of the world. You were a kid too and look what happened to you._

That just makes the pain in me that much more vivid.

My throat suddenly runs dry and I fight to keep the shout in me from coming out when I see Wisely's third eye just below the tiny group. Their movements halt for a split second before they go still like stone. It's almost instantaneous and nothing I could've stopped from happening.

_Perhaps you can halt it from continuing._

That sole thought is the one that has me climb down the pipes as the Noah Clan continue to bicker away at Wisely's incompetence.

"Reina?" is all I hear from Tyki but I ignore him.

It's a bit surprising that none of them try to stop me. I suppose that there's really no need to since Sheril could do it just fine by himself. Yet they still let me and I run down to where the Third is, still conscious, sitting beside the entranced boys.

"What a straying mutt."

Ignoring Sheril's comment, I simply kneel down to check and see what's happening to Allen and Kanda. There's not much for me to do though. They aren't injured; this isn't that easy of a fix. But if I denied Sheril control of so many people then maybe if I use it once more I can release them and stop Alma's awakening.

My hand is barely reaching up to touch Allen when Wisely speaks up making my whole body and mind stop.

"If you keep doing that, you won't just hurt yourself. You'll hurt _it,_ too."

My heart drops and my breath stops for what seems an eternity when I hear him say those words. With what I'm sure is the palest face I've ever shown I turn to face him. There's not even a chance for me to mask my bewilderment from how off guard that caught me. I can only say the one question that rises to the top of my head.

"What are you talking about…?"

My voice betrays me. It's low and cracks and I can't keep the quivering it has when I speak. It's not something I'll lie myself about: I'm petrified of where this could go.

"That pesky thing of yours takes life force as energy. When it runs out, it'll inevitable go to any other source it can find to keep up with your commands," he explains with a smirk on his lips. "And for that to happen to such a small life—" he chuckles and that sound just chills me. "I'd be careful if I were you, Teresa."

Doubt brushes through my mind for an instant. He could very well be lying to keep me from liberating them from his trance and stopping this whole thing. Wisely's smile widens even further as I'm sure he just read my thoughts.

"Would you really test my words against its life?"

_Never. Not on my child's life._

"Then be smart for once, Teresa," Wisely replies to my thought. "And put your hand down."

Our conversation must have taken awhile because out of the corner of my eyes I barely catch the sight of Allen twitching back in control of his body. His left hand quickly returns and becomes a fist that strikes down Kanda with so much force that he goes spiraling back onto a wall. Not having an idea of what's going on now from how blank my head is, my legs skip back from where I was standing. It's weird that they won't carry me in any particular direction though; neither to the Noah nor the exorcists.

_Both are a danger to me…to_ it.

My hands come up to hold my stomach at that thought. Everything goes away though when a sudden shake starts that doesn't seem to stop. All the pipes around me are violently breaking out and holding onto everybody that's present in a death grip. Because I'm too busy trying not to fall, I notice the ones coming for me a little too late. Luckily, Tyki didn't and rushes to my side. He doesn't say a word but instead cuts through the pipes that attacks me before jumping back and out of danger's way. It's a little too late though because just then a blinding light hits my eyes. I close them but the sound of the following explosion only worsens the pain.

It all comes full blast for a few seconds before it's muffled. Tyki's still beside me and I feel his arms wrapping around me. He's a comfort I relish in and shrink into his embrace as the destruction continues and then stops.

When silence comes again and I open my eyes, all I see is the world through a green glass before the sphere around us shatters. The first thing I notice when I regain some semblance of thinking is that I'm exhausted. My breathings ragged and my muscles ache. I doubt I would even be standing were it not for Tyki holding me in place. But I don't think it's my exhaustion that's making my knees weak; it's the devastation that I see has been caused by Alma's forced awakening.

The fighting does not take much long after the explosion to begin. Kanda and Alma begin fighting and they're aiming to kill each other. Despite knowing the truth, I can't understand why Alma would even go so far. And Kanda…poor boy, not knowing what his whole life has been or the truth of the people that were a part of it. Not only that but also the Third's rampage isn't stopping and even Tyki's joined to fight against the Asian Branch's guardian, Fou, after she was summoned.

The battle rages on and it just brings more destruction into this already wretched world. And as I stand here among the ones causing it, for the first time in a long while, I feel sick. It's just like when I was a kid. The scenario and people may be different but war doesn't change. It never does. People still kill people, for petty things like power and the world. For things that no one would care about if it weren't for the battle they were chosen— _forced_ —to join. And not just the Exorcists but the Noah as well. None chose this and yet they fight for the sides that did choose them.

_If it weren't for this…they might have even lived as friends._

And to bring something as precious as a child to this world only for it to corrupt them…I don't know if I can do that. If I even should. They don't deserve a life that I can't stop from attacking them.

As I watch the fight continue it amazes and horrifies me how fast everything is happening. And all at once too. Reading the arc about this had taken many pages and chapters to tell but right here and now as I'm witnessing this it seems like it's happening way too fast.

It's when Allen and Kanda clash that I finally recognize where and what time I'm in. And what's worse, I remember what happens. If Kanda strikes Allen he'll inadvertently awaken Nea.

That's something that I can't let happen.

But despite wanting to do something, my mind keeps my feet stuck to the ground where Tyki left me. And no matter what I say to myself I can't move from where I am.

Why…?

_You don't mind dying but…it's not only you who you have to worry about now._

How much of an idiot am I? How could I have forgotten my child before and even now in this heap of danger? If I really cared about what would happen to it then I wouldn't be risking myself for these people. I should be taking care of myself and not be bothered by this.

_But I can't…simply because that's not who I am._

And that strikes a chord when I see Allen entrapped in a ball of energy. I realize once I see the Earl that my doubt has cost me: Allen's been stricken. Nea will be able to take control of him now.

_You can't save them._

Yes, I can. Before you told me I could, Heaven's Touch, and you were right. You're still right. You can protect me, and I'll never stop protecting this child, but I also won't stop trying to protect these people. They need help and I can help them. I've never been able to protect someone who's mattered to me before. And now that I can, I won't back out.

_And neither will him._

Just then I see Allen's left eye activate and that simple action makes the dark color of the Noah's skin disappear. But that reprieve is short-lived because Alma quickly self-destructs leaving a bright light and a cloud of dust behind. It's making it impossible for me to see them but I don't have to wait long. After a few minutes, all I see is something black shoot through the air aiming at the distance.

It's Alma. He's going to disappear.

But I know that they won't let him go alone. Taking a quick sidestep, I avoid the lash of the Clown Belt that wraps around the Earl. Wisely and Sheril try keeping him on top of the tower of pipes we're on and I don't help them. Instead I watch as Allen and Kanda propel themselves skyward. Kanda catches Alma's brittle dark matter body while Allen lands to open a Gate of his own Ark. With the question mark designing its mysterious location, the two sad star-crossed lovers disappear and Allen is left behind vowing that no one else will interfere with them.

_He's a good boy following his heart. And it's something I should learn to do more._

Mayhem ensues rapidly then. There's really no rest where this is concern. The Third breaks from its confinements from the guardian and it goes on with its rage rampage. Despite Alma being gone the hatred that consumed those infused cells with his cells is stronger than anybody thought. And yet despite knowing there's possibly no saving them, Allen is still trying.

But he's weak. He won't block the Third's attack…but I can help with that.

_And I'll apologize to you_ , mi pequeño _, once you're born for how reckless your mother is. I promise I will and I hope that you'll understand and be proud of my choices._

Without hesitating, I jump from my place and land just a few feet away from where Allen's trying to keep Tokusa away. Just when a hit is about to hit him, I rush to his side and willing it to my hands, the shield of Heaven's Touch appears in my hands. The moment the large mutant hand lands on it, sparks of purple and white jump out in every direction. It yells out in pain and retreats its hand away from the field that the shield created with the energy I had cooped up in my body.

At seeing me there beside him, Allen can only stare in amazement at both my being there and the powers I've just used.

"R-Reina?" he stutters, clearly baffled.

"Don't squander the chance," I quickly reply while holding my shield as more blows quickly come. "We have to reach him somehow!"

Allen's not leaving me to myself either. He's blocking any attack he can while trying to think about what to do. I'm almost running out of energy when he finally goes onto the Third straight on. Not wanting to get too close, I stay back and listen to Allen instead. And somehow he gets through to him. But just as they're about to do something Allen gets trapped by talismans.

"Allen!" I shout concerned for him as he falls face first onto the ground. But before I can even lift a finger to help him, a row of talismans hover around me and impede my movement. I've never been caught in them before but the massive augmentation of gravity they put on me pushes me to my knees. I can do nothing as Allen tries to reason with Link to let him save Tokusa. I can't do anything when Tokusa starts coming at us again.

And I can't do much when Tyki appears right behind me. All at once I feel the gravity pushing me down disappear before his hands wraps around my waist to pull me up. He moves quicker than I can see and I'm back at the top of the pipe tower before I even notice. He puts me on my feet but doesn't let go of my forearm. Tyki doesn't intend to let me do something stupid like that again.

He pulls me along with all the rest through the Ark and I feel the pressure before we appear on the other side. This time we're in a large round room that's very bare. The noises of pain and suffering coming from Tokusa and the girl, Tewaku, that ended with us sets a bad feeling in me.

"Tyki-pon, Mercym," the Earl says breaking the silence. It doesn't break the tension I feel and much less the fear that's quickly beginning to pile on me. "Take the Thirds away."

They don't argue. Mercym leaves right away with the Third he holds under his arm. Tyki hesitates a little and tightens his grip on my arm before letting go. He knocks out the girl before picking her up and takes Tokusa as well once the Earl calms the mutations that had happened to his body.

"What a tiring day," the Earl says. "Productive but tiresome. Road—" Road jumps off from Sheril's shoulder and morphs back into herself in that same dress from before.

"Yes?" she asks.

"Come with me," he simply says. "Your company sounds blessed right about now."

Road glances over her shoulder to me. I don't know if she can see the fear etched in my eyes or on my face. If she does she doesn't comment on it. She simply grimaces before walking up to the Earl. They walk away and through a door before it disappears leaving no trace of it.

True silence now reigns over. I'm left with a sick maniac and a mind-reading boy. And despite the odd combination, it still scares me. I take a single step back but I'm halted in my tracks when my body suddenly turns against me. It won't move…and I know why.

Sheril turns to face me with a wicked smile and I know this can't be any good.

"No wonder you were such a thorn on my side," he says with that same smile on. "You're an Innocence bearer."

"You hid it very well," Wisely adds.

_Not as well as you give me credit for._

Wisely grins at that. "True. It'd be practically impossible to hide something so obvious from Noah. Especially the Earl. He must have known."

"My Road didn't seem surprised either," Sheril agrees. "Neither did my darling brother. How crude of them to keep secrets from the rest of the family."

The sudden hold on my body suddenly changes and instead of simply being held in place, a pain starts to pile onto my muscles slowly. And just the pain from how fast it's coursing through me is killing me.

"I hate family secrets." Sheril's grin doesn't waver as he walks closer. Wisely only stays behind him seemingly enjoying this. "And since I can't confront anybody else, I'll just make do with you."

The control over me intensifies and at that instant Heaven's Touch activates by itself creating the bubble with the least amount of energy possible. But because it's so little it only breaks Sheril's control over me for a few seconds before shattering. The use leaves me weak and my legs buckle underneath me. As I sit there tired, a shadow comes to loom over me. I glance up only to see Sheril with the most terrifying smirk ever.

His eyes gleam in the light and that smirk never fades. "Now let's see how much I can kick the mutt before it keels over."

_I thought Road was my worst nightmare._

The control over me starts again and I feel an unimaginable pain course through me and forces the bubble to form again. But it quickly breaks once more and just as it does I catch Wisely's smirk that although doesn't match Sheril's manic one still sends a chill down my spine. What does me in though are the words that he speaks into my head. A warning of what's to come.

" _Believe me, Teresa. After this Road's torture will soon be a dream you'll yearn for."_


	25. Chapter 25

_**Twenty-Five** _

**When Someone, Somewhere Cries**

* * *

Despite how little time it took for him and Mercym to take the Thirds away, Tyki still felt a dread that clad his mind.

It's deep and dark. And it didn't want to leave him no matter how much he tried to ignore it.

He should be glad. They just got back from the North American Branch of the Order and had successfully put the boy against his precious friends. They had gotten the Earl's new toys as well. They won this battle by a grand landslide and yet he felt the most horrid sense of uneasiness he had ever felt in his life.

And he knew that this uneasiness had to do with the fact that Reina's dirty little secret was out.

Up to what Road had told him, only three people knew that Reina was an Innocence bearer: Road, the Earl, and himself. Road wouldn't do much about it because frankly she didn't seem to care. Ever since Reina had come out of her coma, they'd seem to be getting along better. Fine, even. The Earl had attempted his little experiment and that had made Reina sick enough to make him hold his anger back.

But that was them—the most level-headed that there could be in his 'oh-so-special' family. There was no telling what the others would do. Surely those who knew little of her like Mercym, Tryde, Fiidora and Mightra wouldn't care much to deal with a problem the Earl didn't see urgent enough to take care of himself. The twins loved her, both to his displeasure and luck. They wouldn't lay a finger on her. Lulubell only followed the Earl's orders and wouldn't do anything she wasn't supposed to. He might not know Wisely much but the kid was a punk; he wouldn't lift a finger to fight even if he wanted to.

The only one unaccounted for and the one who would intentionally harm her was the one she was alone with at the moment.

Tyki had grown up with Sheril and as brothers before _and_ after their introduction to the Noah family he knew how volatile his older brother could be. And Reina had never been his favorite topic. In fact, the least she was mentioned in any conversation, either by Tricia or Road, the better. And now that it's a known fact that Reina is an accommodator, he wouldn't just stand and do nothing.

Leaving her there with Sheril and Wisely wasn't the best idea ever, even he knew that, but disobeying the Earl's orders would have gotten him in worse problems. And right now, as he headed back to where he left Reina with the two, he knew that his dread was justified. Especially when he began hearing Reina's screams from the other side.

Full with a mix of anger and desperation, Tyki phased through the wall to quicken hiss entrance into the room. And at seeing the scene before him, he almost felt his control slip away from him.

Reina was on the floor lying face down exhausted and beaten, barely holding herself up with her arms. From his place he could see the sheen of the thin green shield that coated her body. It was protecting her and when he saw her wince he felt it and saw the shield shatter into tiny pieces that disappeared. But soon the sheen began to form again quickly after, making Reina hold her breath.

And standing over her just a step away was the one causing her harm. Tyki gritted his teeth at seeing the manic grin on his brother Sheril's face. The way that his hand moved jerking back and forth matched the instances Reina whimpered in pain making her shield break once again. Wisely was the only spectator who leisurely sat by watching it all occur. And when Tyki came into the room in a rush he was also the first to notice him.

"Welcome," Wisely said joyfully with a grin. "Came to join your brother?"

_I'll tear his throat for it later._

Tyki ignored Wisely's comment and instead went directly towards Sheril. Finally noticing his little brother's presence, Sheril turned, the manic grin ebbing a little, and was taken by surprise when Tyki grabbed him by the collar of his outfit to push him back from Reina as much as he could.

"Tyki—"

But Tyki didn't let him finish his sentence and instead shook him forcefully by the grip on his collar. "How dare you?!"

"It's become too much of a nuisance, Tyki, and it's a toy that you should rid yourself of right this instant!" Sheril yelled back not bothering to control his temper when Tyki didn't bother with his.

"Do _not_ insult her in front of me, _brother,_ " Tyki spat every single word out with every ounce of fury he had pent.

"That bitch should be dealt with _now_ ," Sheril snarled back, trying to push Tyki off of him.

But Tyki didn't let him get away from his grasp. Instead he tightened it and shoved him against the nearest wall he had as hard as he could. All that he had festering in him—all the anger, frustration, and hatred—was being released in that instant. And there was no stopping him, not when Sheril kept running his mouth about Reina.

"I swear that if you ever lay as much of a finger on her ever again I'll—"

" **What is going on here?"**

Both turned, their anger clearly drawn on their faces, to see Road with a much more irritated expression on her own. Road glared down at them at catching them in such stupid fight but her eyes grow wide at seeing Reina some feet away from them. She rushed over to her and glanced down at how beaten down she was.

None there dared speak for they sensed something much more malignant than any of them had ever felt from Road before. The girl wasn't a child, and she had more experience with her powers than any of them.

"Tyki," Road spoke up suddenly, surprising both brothers from their stupor. "Grab her and take her away to rest. She needs it."

Tyki hesitated for a bit before shoving Sheril onto the wall one last time before heeding Road's orders. Rushing over himself, he knelt down and picked her gently in her arms. It wasn't hard to hear how shallow her breathing was from her exhaustion. And it wouldn't surprise him if the damage that Sheril did was more internal than external. He got up and started his way out of the room. Road went ahead of him out through the door but before he followed behind her, Tyki turned to Sheril with the deadliest glare he could give him.

"I wasn't bluffing," he told Sheril. "You ever do this again, I'll be the one you deal with. Brother or not."

Tyki left quickly after delivering his threat because despite his mounting anger telling him to go back and beat the living hell out of his brother and Wisely, something stronger was pushing him to hurry and get Reina treated. It was driving him crazy that he had left her even a second alone with them but he needed to stay calm for her sake.

Reina needed him more.

* * *

Everything hurts…in a strange way.

Every muscle in my body is screaming and burning so much that it doesn't let me stand on my own. My senses are numbed down. I can't see anything with my vision so blurry and dark. I can barely hear my own thoughts beyond the white noise that is splitting my head open. All I feel is pain until it stops. It's very sudden when I feel pressure on my arms and legs next. The pressure is hurting me a little more than everywhere else but the sensation is somewhat reassuring as well.

Familiar and…warm.

I don't know why the pain stops or why it got replaced by this painful comfort but it feels so welcoming that I end up not questioning it anymore. The white noise in my head is the only thing that hasn't stopped. And everything else is somehow getting worse.

I barely feel the moment my legs clumsily tatter onto the floor. The instant I grasp the situation I get the feeling that I'm no longer with Sheril. The constant exhaustion from my shield breaking had stopped a few minutes ago after all. But every other pain I feel seems residual. I'm even surprised I'm able to think straight with all this noise in my head.

But it quickly turns to the least of my problems when a chilling frost hits my body. It's a cold that hits through my bones and one like I've never felt before.

_No, I've felt this kind of icy touch before._

That's right, once.

It was when my car skid off the road and onto the forest. After it rolled to a stop and I clawed myself out of the steel box, it was snowing. And as I laid there on the coldness I felt a numbness like now. It came after the pain was gone. First the pain, then the numbness, and after that the cold. A blanket of coldness that enveloped me.

_And after that…I died._

"I'm dying."

"You're not going to die."

_Who's voice…?_

I barely heard it but I know that voice.

"…Tyki?"

"Yes, and he's right. You're not going to die."

That was a girl's voice and its timbre reverberate through the white noise in my head. Out of nowhere, a hotness strikes through the cold that I feel. The more it spreads the more I feel it thaw through the iciness that was marking its way through me. It's almost like someone has poured hot water in me and it's soothing the pain away.

When it's just enough to let me have my senses back I finally realize that someone's holding my hand. When my eyes land on my own hand I finally see the small ashen hand that's holding mine. As my senses keep coming back, the pains from before start ebbing away as well.

Once the majority of the white noise is gone I can finally lift my head. At doing so, my eyes come up to see Road's and the small smile that spreads across her face. It's at this moment that she surprisingly reminds me the most of Kathleen. So kind and selfless.

And then I remember that the warmth is still pooling into me and notice that she's slightly wincing under her smile.

I'm taking away strength from her.

And although a part of me tells me to let go before I do any lasting damage, another part yells at me to keep contact with her for just a little longer. The thing is that it's a little fuzzy why I want to hold on. All I know is that I _need_ to take just enough to make sure of…something.

My mind may be a jumble but that's the one thing that I've got clear in my head. My mind wonders as the warmth continues to pool inside of me for a few seconds. I think she's handling it well until she winces noticeably and tries to pull her hand away from mine.

_Not yet._

As if reacting, my hand moves on its own and holds tighter to Road's hand. I lift my head and stare right at her begging her for a little more time. But it seems she can't understand or more like it's beginning to hurt. My throat is dry and it burns when I speak but I push myself to tell her what I want her to know.

"Just a little more," I whisper with a hoarse voice. "I want to make sure they're okay."

"They?"

Tyki's confusion seems normal but not really my concern right now. All I want is to know that _it_ will be all right. Road seems to understand with just this and holds tightly onto my hand. It only takes a few seconds more for me to know that it's no longer in danger. It's not a second too late, either, because I let go of Road's hand just as she starts breathing heavily.

Now that I have a mild sense of myself back, I can tell that I'm in a room sitting on the floor. I know I can't get up with what little strength I have so I just check here. Resting my back against the wall, I raise my hand onto my stomach and use the strength I have and will Heaven's Touch to scan my body.

It's hard to ignore the inside injuries that plague me. There's plenty of pulled muscles, most likely twisted by Sheril during his abuse. Some of my organs seem bruised as well. He did a number on me, all right. But a relieved sigh and a stinging on my eyes leave me when I find what I was looking for.

A heartbeat. It's tiny and I can tell there was a little bit of damage from Heaven's Touch taking life force from it, but it is there.

"You're alive, _mi pequeño._ But I'm sorry," I say aloud to it as I rub my stomach gently. "I shouldn't have been so reckless. Forgive me."

"What are you going on about?"

This time when he speaks, I actually turn up to face Tyki. He and Road had come over to kneel near me, I assume when I moved back to check up on myself. Although Road has a slight pained expression of relief, I can tell that Tyki's is fully of confusion.

And I don't know if I can hide this much longer.

"Tell him, Reina." I turn over to Road when she speaks. Her pained expression is mostly gone as she falls back to a sit while holding onto her knees.

"Tell me what?" Tyki asks with a grimace.

One forms on my own lips at the mere suggestion. Despite how much conviction I had before there's no denying that now that I'm faced with this chance to tell him I'm completely and utterly terrified. All the fears from before—the same exact ones that I thought I had thrown out for the love I've grown to have for my child—are quickly returning and freezing me entirely.

I can't tell him.

It's just impossible.

_Then show him._

Show…him…?

The hand over my stomach twitches as the warmth on my palm feels warmer than before. Heaven's Touch seems impatient, as if even it wants me to come out and tell the truth. If I can then a lot of troubles would be taken off my shoulders and that would be fantastic. So maybe…I _can_ show him.

Without saying a word, I get up slowly to sit straight before reaching out and taking his hand in mine. Before I can give myself any time to back out of this, I lay his hand over my abdomen and close my eyes before willing Heaven's Touch to work for me this time.

_Please, show him what you've shown me. Let him hear it_ _,_ los latidos de nuestro pequeño.

And it listens. Even I can hear the tiny heartbeats that are so out of sync with mine.

"What…is this?" Tyki asks with no more than a whisper. I don't dare look up to see his expression so his voice is all I have to go by. "I'm hearing…a heart…?" When I feel something in my stomach, I glance down and see his fingertips starting to phase through making me lose my cool for a second.

"Don't harm it!"

My shout seems to startle him enough to make him stop. He retracts his hand and instead lays it on my stomach again. "It?"

"It's ours," I blurt out not wanting to have to explain myself twice. "What's growing inside of me is our child." There's a second of silence and I take a long breath before turning up to see glance up at him. But instead of anger or disappointment all I see is confusion. "What's—"

"Ours?" he repeats, weakly.

A giggle makes me glance to Road for a slight second and it's then that I catch the slight grin that she has as she looks at Tyki. I don't give her much more attention than that though and instead glance back at him. It's almost like he's frozen.

Instead I answer what I presume was a question he asked. "Yes, Tyki. I'm—" at this exact moment, I can feel the warmth of my blood rushing up to my face and my throat running dry. "I'm pregnant…with your child."

Silence. Utter and despicable silence follows that clings heavily to everything holy in me.

_I knew this wouldn't turn out okay._

So instead I open my mouth again and start blabbering out anything and everything that comes to my mind.

"Look, I know this isn't ideal so I'm sorry for that," I say not raising my head. "But I'm keeping it even if you don't want it because I don't really care if you don't. It's mine and I—"

But before I can say anything else his fingers grab my chin and lift my face. I can't continue after that because his lips are instantly on mine. Like the many times before this I feel a gentleness to this kiss. It's not out of lust or desire. Most certainly there's love from my part which is why I enjoy it and perhaps on his but what I feel the most is the pure _need_.

The exchange is short-lived though and he pulls back slightly only to stare at me with a dazed look. His hand lingers on my face and his thumb gently caresses my cheek in an almost delicate manner. Tyki does nothing but stare until he finally speaks.

"I want you," he simply says. "Both of you."

"W-What?" I ask not able to understand for a couple of seconds.

But Road doesn't let him answer me and instead asks a question of her own. "Does that mean I'm getting a baby cousin!?"

"In time, you will," Tyki tells her with a smirk but never lets his eyes waver from me.

"You mean…" I whisper quietly. "You're not angry?"

"Angry?" Tyki scoffs and I mistakenly think that's the end of it before he starts chuckling. When he takes a little too long to stop, I raise a fist and punch him in the gut. He winces and drops his glance from the hit. He clears his throat before turning back to me, "I'm not angry, my queen. Quite the contrary, I can't think of anything that's ever made me feel this ecstatic."

My eyes sting for a second at hearing those words but I quickly reach up and wipe the tears away. I don't know where it comes from but I hear myself letting out a laugh. It's idiotic, really. Even in this mad world, I can still find this kind of situation that completely pitches everything else out of ballpark. Forget fighting Akuma, dealing with the Noah or the Exorcists, or even this crap of being the foreteller of this world. This was, by far, the scariest shit I've ever done. And I expected the worse to happen because of it. I think…I've always done that. I've learned not to bring my hopes high because when I don't then I'm not disappointed or heartbroken. And yet at every turn where this world is concern, I've been amazed and baffled.

In this world, I don't have the luck of the little orphan girl who tortured and killed. I'm not the ghost of the daughter of two different families: not a sweet little girl nor a perfect young lady. Here, I'm just me. And that seems to have changed everything.

Here, I'm the accommodator of Heaven's Touch.

This is the place where I belong to no group and yet still know I have allies in both. I have Tyki and Road here. And I wish to believe that I have Allen to count on too.

Here, I don't have to expect the worst because this is where I can be myself and hope for the best. And so far it's been true.

I've gotten a more fulfilling life here than I ever did in my own world.

My relationships here are based on actual friendships and not of merit.

My love is actually returned and it fills the emptiness that I was left with.

And I'm sure that I can give birth to my child here and not be as afraid as I thought at first. And this will all be because Tyki is with me. He's loved me this whole time—despite our bickering and fighting, it's a love that just works that way. We're both stubborn, he may have powers out of my control but so do I. We'll fold in the end, though, because that's how we do things.

Ours is a stubborn and strong love.

It's simple and it is enough.

And it will be enough for my— _our_ child.

"It scares me a little, you know," I say with a scoff, wanting to let these fears out of me. "This war, these sides. I'm afraid that I'll be doing it more harm than good by bringing it to such a world. And I'm most terrified that I won't be able to protect it."

"You won't do it alone," he tells me softly. "You'll have me. You both will. And I won't let anyone come near either of you. No one will hurt you."

"Count me in, as well," Road says languidly but with a grin. She stretches herself out and sits spreading her legs out and arms leaning back to support her. "I'll leave Reina to you, Tyki, but what kind of aunt would I be if I let anything happen to the little buddy."

"It's your cousin, Road. You're not its aunt," I rectify with a chuckle.

It's silent for a few minutes but this time it's not as heavy. There's still things burdening my chest and I know what they are. All this time I've been comparing two worlds that I've fully experienced: the one I'm in now and the one I have left. They are both important to me and yet I've decided to leave my old home for this one. It's not a decision I regret but…he needs to know.

A smile edges at my lips at what I'm about to do but I'm not afraid anymore.

_Besides, I've gotten through the worse part. Telling him the truth—where I come from, who I am, and what I'm here for—won't be_ that _much harder._

* * *

And for once I surprise myself.

It isn't as hard as I first thought to tell him the whole rest of the truth. Sure it takes time, and it's complicated to start at any given point. But Road gives me a good segue to start when she mentions that most ludicrous subject that launches every other topic out in the open.

"She's not from our world."

Tyki doesn't take it as a skeptic and instead asks for some more clarification. So I tell him, explaining it to him like I would to a kid.

"I don't belong to your world," I tell him. "I wasn't born here. None of the people or subjects I know exist in this world."

"She's a doppelganger," Road say and takes over for a little bit to explain to him what she had told me some months ago.

Two people existing in parallel universes—dimensional pockets—that came too close to each other when they both experienced a near death experience. After my soul left my body in my world, it found my body in this one. I absorbed the soul that existed here and since then owned two bodies in two separate dimensions.

Surprisingly, Tyki stops Road after her brief explanation and turns to me with a confused expression on his face.

"You died?" he asks.

I give him a smile for it amazes me still that after having been described such surreal things that he would still only focus on my well-being.

"The accident that got me to the hospital, the one in my world and the one that you subsequently found me outside of the day I saved Eeze," I tell him while holding onto a couple of his fingers. A grimace forms on my face though when I know he won't understand if I don't explain. "But maybe a little bit of history about what let to that would be better."

Road sticks out her tongue at this and gets up before saying, "I already know this story. And since he already accepts that you're not from here then I'll just take my leave."

"You should," I agree with her and smile. "The Earl, he seemed pretty broken hearted after meeting the 14th. You should be with him."

"He's such a big crybaby," Tyki comments but doesn't disagree. With that Road makes her way out of the room.

I intend to continue with my tale but Tyki stops me with a squeeze of my hand. "You can tell me more later. First we should get cleaned up." It takes me a minute to understand his reasoning; it isn't until I notice that we're both dressed out in uniform and that I'm quite dirtied and bloodied that I know he's right for once.

"Sure thing."

We spend the next hour showering and when I'm out, I'm surprised that I'm famished beyond words. Tyki goes out to get the maids to make something and leaves me a while. He's changed in the span of minutes. He doesn't know the whole story and yet acts like I'm a porcelain doll. I'm even beginning to think that he might be afraid of losing me—of losing both of us.

He truly is a man of his word, Noah or not. Tyki might be a pleasure-driven being as his genes have made him but beyond that I'm beginning to wonder who he was before the Noah awakened in him. But then I remember the year I spent together with him and the guys. The sweet, conniving, and mean marshmallow he was and something tells me that I've already met that man. And that if that part of him wasn't what made me fall for him then it was surely a great part of it.

This life of his—the Noah side of him is the one that taught me greater things though. That fear is irrational but can also be justifiable. That self-defense and instigated violence are actions I shouldn't be ashamed of. And most of all that I'm not as strong as I think I am, but I'm certainly stronger than they all take me for.

Both sides of him have taught and shown me many things. And I'm grateful for them and most importantly for having met him.

Just then the door opens and Tyki comes in followed by a couple of maids who bring in different dishes and small tables to place them on. Once they finish putting everything out, they leave and we're left alone once more.

My eyes wonder about the dishes that seem one too many. A chuckle escapes me when I raise an eyebrow, "You know, I may pregnant but that doesn't mean I'm dying to eat."

"Better safe than sorry, lil' queen," he says while scratching the back of his head. "Besides, I didn't want to miss anything." He comes to sit next to me on the edge of the bed and brings a plate for himself over to it.

I reach over for one myself, leaning over a little too much. He notices the small grunt I give and reaches over me with his long ass arms to get the steak that I wanted. "Don't stress yourself."

Tyki brings the plate next to his and I give a pout before crossing my arms. "Way too soon to be babying me, Mikk. You know I hate being held by the hand on anything."

"You were being lazy," he tells me. "Besides, you weren't going to get up to get it anyway."

My mouth opens to object but I close it once I notice he's right. At noticing I'm left without an excuse he smiles that shit-eating grin of his that I've grown to adore. But instead of telling him that and giving him the satisfaction of being right, I take a fork and knife to start eating.

"Now, will you continue your tale, my queen?" he asks as he too starts eating away at his plate.

I nod and try eating slowly to explain to him. "Well, then let me start from the beginning then. My parents: Nicolas and Teresa."

And time runs on its own the whole while that I'm telling him about my life.

First with my parents; because I'm still a little sore on that subject, I don't tell him that my mother died protecting me, only that she died in a car accident. And then that my dad died years later on the job. Then comes the time with Noir. All the while I'm explaining this to him, I notice that his hands form fists before long. Torture on others I'm sure he's done his share of; I've seen some. But then again I don't think he's ever thought that it ever happened to me by someone else's hand. I then tell him about the one murder I committed, Cherise.

On this part he does voice his opinion saying that he's surprised I ever considered what I did murder. I just tell him that I was a child and in my world people are judgmental of appearances not facts. And that was apparent during the court sessions after Noir's capture. The looks were devastating, especially to a small girl. Now I see the reasons why they medicated me so heavily afterwards.

But I digress and continue on with my story. The next stop is when the O'Connors adopted me. And as I describe each member of that family out to him, Tyki noticeably becomes a little tense. It's nothing to do with my parents, nor with Sebastian or Gerard. He mentions Kathleen as being the reason he saw me getting so attached to Eeze and now to Road; I don't deny it. The tension comes when I mention Jaden for the first time and I can imagine why. It's while I'm telling him of the time of my sixteen birthday, when Gerard left after Sebastian, that he steps in.

"And when did your whole relationship with your _brother_ start?"

_So obvious._

But I don't deny him an answer.

" _Step-_ brother. And it was a little while after I turned seventeen," I answer and glance up at him. He quickly averts his eyes and frowns which just makes me scoff a bit. "What? You're seriously going to tell me you're jealous of him?"

"If by jealous you mean I want to bash his teeth in without even knowing the guy then yes, I am," he says with a tick to his jaw. He clicks his tongue and reaches into his pocket to take out a cigarette. I grimace and am about to tell him to not do that here but it's to my surprise that he catches himself even without looking at me.

Tyki places it between his teeth and begins biting down on it without lighting it. A chuckle comes out of me before I thank him. He mumbles a 'whatever' before brushing the strands of hair back from his face surely out of annoyance.

"You're cute when you're jealous," I comment without thinking.

"Not funny," he replies with a restrained grin but I laugh a little anyway.

But as I continue the story, I take his emotions more into account, skipping over some of the things that would only cause his annoyance to rise like losing my virginity and such. It's the year of my 18th birthday that I focus on since it's when Seb and Ger passed away and everything around us began to crack and crumble. I tell him about me researching into the military and wishing to go and follow in their footsteps. Then about how when my parents found out, they freaked and forbade me from even looking it up. Of course, at such age and after the things that happened, I didn't listen to them and searched everything out when I told them I was going out searching for college applications.

"And that's what led to the accident that got me in the hospital and into a coma in my world," I reply finishing everything.

"How?"

Tyki's question takes me a little by surprise and it takes me a bit to search for the answer. It's at remembering that last night that I grimace. "I got accepted into the medical unit and because I was eighteen, I didn't need parental consent. All I needed to do was get to the training base to leave for the training destination the next morning. I had planned to leave the night before to have a head start and avoid any scenes in the morning. Unfortunately I didn't account for Jaden getting home from school a week earlier, that same night."

"He caught you leaving," Tyki finishes for me.

"Right as I was about to leave through the front door," I add with a groan. "We fought; he was mad about me leaving after what happened to Seb and Ger and not telling anyone. I got mad because he wouldn't let me do what I wanted."

"Like I haven't learned to expect _that_ ," he says with a scoff.

"You're hilarious," I tell him blatantly. "It was him yelling at me that woke Kathleen up. While he was tending to her, I booked it to my truck. Sped out into the road like there was no tomorrow and got away scot-free. Or at least I thought so until I lost control on the iced road and tipped over. Got injured badly but I managed to get out of it before passing out. Then I wake up to my family around me before my heart stops and I die. That's what they told me, at least. Next thing I know, I'm awake at the hospital in Pavilion Town."

"You've seen them since then?" he asks a little confused.

"Oh, that's right," I say, remembering. "The two weeks after the Ark, when I was in a coma, my soul went back to my world through my body."

When he gives me a puzzled look, I sigh and shake my head before explaining what Road had to say to me that night. About how I ended it with Jaden, giving Tyki the same reason I gave him. And what I ended up doing to keep a part of me there with Kathleen mostly for her sake. When I'm done, he seems to understand it along with the decision I made. About that, I tell him everything except for my eternal damnation after my death. He doesn't need to know that. It'll only bring unnecessary pain to both of us about something neither can change. Best leave that as it is.

It's already late in the evening, almost midnight, when I'm done talking and eating. Curiously and to my dismay, I actually do eat more than he does. Despite eating slowly to not choke on anything, I'm on my fourth plate when I notice it. Surely my appetite has always been large but never like this.

_Please don't tell me you'll make_ that _bigger too,_ mi pequeño.

"It's late."

My eyes come up to meet Tyki's as he picks up the plates scattered on the bed and puts them on the small tables that had been brought in before. He leaves them to the side and comes over to me.

"We should go to bed."

"I'm not tired—" but a yawn comes out, betraying my lie. "Fuck…"

"It's been a long day, my queen," he says while stretching his arms out above him and audibly popping his shoulders. "For all of us. Let's just call it quits and rest."

"I guess," is all the answer I give him.

It's curious that now that I've told him that as we lay in bed, the room all dark and with me cradled against him, his hands come to two different places. One entwines his fingers with mine while the other rests over my abdomen along with my own. We lay there for a few minutes, everything a little tense until his voice comes over me as a whisper.

"Reina."

"Hmm?"

"Can you do that again?"

I shuffle a bit but don't move much from my place, only enough so that I can turn my head to look at him well. "Do what?"

Tyki's hand over my stomach tightens in the slightest and when his eyes narrow, I notice that it's a little hard for him to ask this. "What you did…to let me hear it."

_Oh, that explains it._

He wants to hear the heartbeat, but for me to do that he has to let me use Heaven's Touch. What conflicts could he be rationalizing to let something as hurtful to him as Innocence to live inside of me? I let the question linger and ask Heaven's Touch to let me hear it just like I had before. It doesn't take long before I hear the soft beating in my ears almost like a humming.

Tyki doesn't say anything but instead holds me closer to him all together. And again I feel that delicacy that he holds me with. My curiosity gets the best of me then and my mouth is quick to follow with the question.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" he asks almost innocently but I can tell that he knows what I'm talking about.

"Don't play coy," I reply, my voice a little higher. "You've started doing this since a while ago. Treating me like…I'm weak and fragile. Why?"

"You are."

"But it's not just that…it is?" When he doesn't answer and instead starts shuffling away from me is when I turn around to face him. The first thing that I see are his gold eyes gleaming in the darkness. Because his back is to the window and the only source of light from the moonlight is blocked, I can't really see his expression too well. But his eyes tell me a lot.

_He's at odds._

"You're too nosy for your own good, my queen," he answers after a bit with a faint grin.

"I'm nosy just the right amount," I tell him but don't joke around.

It's when he sees me being serious that he sighs. His arms reach under and over me to bring me closer to him. His lips gently lie on my forehead with the soft kiss he gives me but it seems his hands are having a hard time holding me tightly enough.

"It's a pest," he says. "That Innocence of yours."

"So that's what's bothering you."

"Why does that sound like you're talking to a whinny kid?" he asks, leaning back and looking me straight in the eyes.

"Because I am," I reply, bluntly.

"I'm serious, Reina." This time it's his voice that makes me stop joking around and listen to his worry seriously. "Right now when you did it, it was surreal to hear its heartbeat…but at the same time the Noah in me just wanted to—"

"Rip me to tiny pieces?"

"Make it more imaginative and a lot more graphic and you pretty much painted the picture yourself," he says.

"Well, it's not like there's anything we can do about it," I reply after a span of silence. "I can't just rip it away from myself, it's a _part_ of me. And well, we can't really control what you do as Joyd, either."

"I won't let it kill you."

"There's really no way for you to promise me that, Tyki," I tell him with a small smile. "If something like in the Ark happens again and you lose control of yourself, there's no saying what _could_ happen."

"Then I'll destroy the Heart."

"The Heart?" I ask.

"If it's gone then so will the other Innocence," he explains. "And if it doesn't work anymore then I don't have to worry that I'll do you any harm. My killing intent will disappear where you're concerned."

"That's a pretty far-fetched solution," I mumble, but he hears me since he shrugs. With that as an answer, I simply give him a small smile. "But it is one. I'll look for a way too, for you not to want to kill me. For now keeping Heaven's Touch intact is for the best. It lets me look after bucko here while they're in me so it's all right for now. So try to sleep for now."

"I suppose so," he agrees as he brings me closer to him, cradling my head in his arm. "It's true that it lets me hear yours and our kid's heartbeat, so I guess I'll let it slide for now."

"Mine?" I say, not aware this was happening.

"Yep," he says and leans down to kiss my lips briefly. "And they're both the most beautiful sound I've ever heard."

A chuckle comes to me but the compliment is nice to hear, that he loves us both. "Good night, Tyki."

"Rest well, my queen."

* * *

A few days have gone by since then. I've been resting ever since that happened from the number that Sheril did on me. And perhaps it's even more than just that. It was at the North American Branch that I first used my powers intentionally for a great length of time. That along with Sheril's attack must have wasted much more energy than I first thought.

Even after days of rest I can still feel a fatigue that clings onto me but it's almost nothing. At least nothing compared to the slight morning sickness I'm still getting. Road's been visiting me in the few hours she has a day. I know that she's taking care of the Earl since he's surely broken about meeting Nea, both mentally and emotionally. But she still finds time to come and see how we are.

It's kind of weird now to be referring to myself as 'us.' Having this child grow in me close to five months already has attached me to it. Never thought it would happen this fast.

_Wonder if this is how_ Mama _thought about me?_

Hope so. Because if she did then she loved me very much. I mean, I haven't met my child, I can barely feel the bump that's forming on my abdomen and I already love it. My mind's wondering around that thought as I hold the compact double frame in my hand while sitting on the bed. Both my families, the ones I was born to and those who accepted me. Soon there will be one who's born to me.

_Family. Much like the one here._

It's strange that I've even attempted to contact him but it's not like Nea has answered me. I know that after I literally told him to fuck off last time, I never would consider asking for him again. But I have my reasons; if he knows what happens—who lives and dies in this story—then I want to know. If Tyki was going to suffer or if there was going to be a great loss that I should be aware of in the future, then it'd be better if I know now. And now that Tyki is out prowling the mansion, it seems to be the best time than ever for a little tete-to-tete.

"I know you're being a little dicklette—" _both feminine and diminutive of dick_. "And I won't apologize for what I said before but I want to talk to you."

Silence.

_Well, this being the fifth time, I didn't think he'd show either._

And that I'm insulting him might not be helping either. Oh well, I tried.

" _You give up oh so easily."_

"Well, would you look at that," I say, answering him. "Finally stopped pouting?"

" _Not really,"_ he replies _. "Just thought I would rid myself of a lesser annoyance."_

_Grumpy much?_

" _Plenty,"_ he answers my thought. Boy, do him and Wisely share a load of invasive asshole syndrome. _"Most of it having to do with you and your incompetence, foreteller."_

"Excuse you, but I think I've been doing just fine at my job."

" _Not even close."_

"Oh yeah? Give me one example of a job badly done then," I say. It's when I hear him sigh and then take a deep breath that I know that I might have just fucked up on this one.

" _First you let the Earl experiment on you,"_ he says right off the bat. _"What he figured out using you is what he's using to control the Third Exorcists."_

_Strike one?_

" _You also failed to awaken me,"_ he continues.

_Ooh, foul ball._

"Is that why you brought me here in the first place, Nea? To help your awakening," I ask him already getting tired of him shoving the blame on me for mistakes like the first one only to justify the second.

" _You had knowledge of what was to happen."_ He's quick to change the subject but doesn't deny it either. _"I expected you to protect Allen until I emerged. Didn't really expect for Joyd to be an issue."_

"Not saying I'm bummed your plans to use me didn't work but I still have a question. Why me? Out of the many who knew about this world more than me, why would you chose to put a load like this on me?"

" _Your curiosity is unprecedented and you don't abide by laws or rules,"_ he tells me. _"You do what's right for the ones you hold dear, even if it's wrong in the eyes of others. In a way, you remind me of myself."_

_Doubt it._

"And what about this 'other side of the war?'" I ask him instead. "Marian mentioned it before, as well."

" _I didn't plan to tell you since I didn't account for you to last this long here, frankly,"_ he admits. _"But since you'll end up being part of it in end, foreteller, I should tell you. Not now, though, for all will come at its due time. Which reminds me, do you know the ending of this story?"_

His question leaves me a bit baffled but I shake my head before answering him again aloud, "No. I do know about what you and Mana _are_ though."

" _I suppose that shall suffice,"_ he says. There's quiet and for a second I think he's left me until he speaks up again. _"Right now, I believe you have other issues to attend to, however. A pesky little Apocryphos, for example."_

"Apo—ah, shit," I hiss under my breath. That name. As soon as it sets on my brain, I know exactly what he means. It completely went over me that after Alma's attack and Allen's incarceration, he gets ambushed by the independent Innocence, Apocryphos.

It was a few days later; they never specified when exactly to my knowledge but Nea hasn't been such a dick to falsely give me information for my job. He _wants_ me to protect Allen so he wasn't about to risk me missing the boy's major abduction.

With that in mind, I get up and get dressed into that same dress that Road had be wear a few days ago. A lot of my other dresses wouldn't be appropriate for what I'm heading out for. This outfit is the only one that I think can actually do any good. So I change into it before leaving the room. It's on my way out the door that I'm surprised by two people.

Tyki and Road.

"W-What are you two—?"

"You're slow," Road says with a smirk.

"Whatever it is, you're not stopping me," I tell her with a frown.

Suddenly, I hear Tyki clear his throat and dread looking at him. When I do, I expect him to scold me and send me back in, but to my shock I get neither. Instead he has a grin on his face and passes me a cloak like the one he's wearing. "We're not here to stop you. We're going with you."

_Huh?_

"Come again?"

"We know what you're trying to do," Road says. "The Earl ordered us to go help the 14th. He also said the foreteller would help as well." She turns Tyki's way before turning into her doll form and sneaking underneath Tyki's cloak. Her head pokes out before she speaks up again, "Let's hurry! Allen is in trouble!"

"The Order's defenses—" I begin while putting on my cloak.

"Won't matter," Tyki cuts in. "We've got three little helping hands who will disable them for us to sneak into their jail cells. We'll aide the boy there."

"Are you really okay with me going?" I ask out of the blue but with a need to know.

"Absolutely not," he replies with a grimace as he adjusts his cloak to get Road to stay hidden. "But you were already on your way out, weren't you? You would've snuck out somehow. You're a stubborn ass mule and I can't change that. Might as well go and make sure you're both safe."

That he's finally accepted that makes me happy but there's no time for it right now. Instead I turn to Road whose head pops out from beneath his cloak. "Then let's hit the road," I tell them while still looking at Road.

"I'll hit back," Road jokes before making one of her doors appear in the middle of the hall. "But yes, let's go."

We step quickly through the door and the pressure around me changes for a slight second. It's gone quickly and I'm left inside an opaque cell that I have to rapidly adjust to. Tyki's already left and helped Allen escape from Apocryphos' grasp, leaving me behind.

It's fast and I can only stand by while Tyki just bashes the Cardinal's head into the floor. Out of nowhere, a voice that's clearly not his starts talking. It's almost like a mixture of voices and definitely nothing I've ever heard.

_Joyd._

I really hope not. But before Tyki can continue being creepy, Road pops out and transforms back into her human form before launching at Allen to calm him down. Once he's stable I come over to him and assure him everything's going to be okay. He questions my being there but I only smile.

"Can you two handle this?" Tyki calls out.

I intend to let him know we got Allen but when I turn my head towards him, I see Apocryphos standing from the ground. Instead what comes out of me is, "Watch out!"

Tyki turns in time to avoid the slash of an arm that Apocryphos gives him as he regenerates from the attack. Tyki only lands a couple feet away from where we are and I can tell that there's some heavy tension between the Noah and this asshole.

Allen says he feels an Innocence compatible when he sees Apocryphos more clearly. But I shake my head and grab his arm to get his attention. "That thing isn't an accommodator. He's not even human."

"What?" he asks, not understanding.

"This person is neither of those things," Tyki repeats. "This is an independent Innocence whose sole existence is only to protect the Heart. The Millennium Earl calls it Apocryphos."

Road clarifies that the Noah have finally found a clue to the Heart in Apocryphos but the abomination tells them that he's their grim reaper. Tyki doesn't seem fazed however and mocks him before starting the fight and taking him off guard. It's somewhat hard to follow the fight but Tyki's surprise attack gave him the upper hand.

It's short-lived, however, because Apocryphos begins attacking back and pins Tyki against a wall. Some kind of blades start piercing through Tyki's hands when he pins him further in. Out of fear for him, I call out to Heaven's Touch and conjure the shield. I may not have an offensive Innocence but I've seen plenty of Marvel comics to know how to use a shield offensively. Willing it to work, I toss the shield aiming it at Apocryphos who jumps back from it. The shield turns back to me like a boomerang and I'm glad that Captain America taught me something.

But when I run up to catch it, I'm too late to hear Tyki's warning and run into Apocryphos who stands before me. He doesn't say a word and instead raises a hand to attack me. Instinctively, I raise Heaven's Touch and block the attack but I'm surprised when I hear the cracking of glass.

"Foolish to think that the foreteller would be a woman like you," he says as the same feather-like blade starts cracking my shield more. "Why were _you_ chosen?" He pushes his hand more to push his attack further into my shield. This time I hear the distinct breaking of some part of the shield and when I look down at where he's pierced it, I can see the feather's spreading across it like a virus. Just then I feel a pounding across my chest that pressures the air out of my lungs.

"Ah," he says and it barely gets through my ears. "That's the reason. You're their—"

But before I can hear him finish, a dark ball of energy is right in front of his face. It explodes right before him and the toll of a bell rings in my ears. The attack disengages him from my shield and Heaven's Touch sphere protects me from the explosion as Tyki begins attacking him again. This time when Apocryphos gets him on a grip, Allen surges forward.

But whatever Apocryphos did to me, he seems to be doing to Allen as well. The fighting gets so intense that I can't come even close to it. It's when Allen is being overwhelmed by Apocryphos that I see by the corner of my eye how Road gets up. In the span of seconds, she launches a couple of her candles that pierce through Apocryphos enough to deviate his punch to Allen…that she blocked wholly with her body.

Somehow my heart sinks into my stomach at having forgotten about this. Road is injured by Apocryphos, the injury is so bad that her body disappears.

_I thought I could come to stop things like these._

But there's no time for me to feel useless because as soon as that hit happens, talismans start to go around Apocryphos and stop him. Seeing my chance, I run over to Allen and Road to protect them and it's not a moment too soon. Link, barely conscious, releases Tim from his bindings and once free the giant golem comes after us, gobbles us up and before I know it I hear and feel a great explosion. The vertigo hits me as we're shot up into the sky and I notice that my bubble had appeared encasing the three of us that now lie inside of Tim's mouth.

Out of the blue, something halts our way up and I shut my eyes at the sudden movement. It's when I feel stability again that I open my eyes and gasp at what I see. We are more than a couple of hundred feet up in the air and had it not been for my bubble capsuling us inside of Tim's mouth, we'd be mush on floor.

"That scared me!" Tyki calls out from above us somewhere out of sight from me. "Are you three all right?"

"Y-Yeah," I shout out, seeing as neither Allen nor Road could answer. "I think so. But we better get as far away from here as possible. I have a feeling that asshole isn't as dead as we wish he'd be."

Tyki seems to agree because we're on our way towards the nearby forest after that. Once we're far enough, he slowly puts Tim down to let us come out. I break my sphere and let Allen go out first seeing as he's the one carrying Road's unconscious body out. Tyki comes forward after that and helps me out.

As we're standing there Allen just seems dumbfounded by what just happened. I'm about to telling him what's happening when I feel this raw sensation crawling all over my body. It's a disgusting feeling and it's not going away. All the contrary, it feels like I'm being watched.

"He's looking for us," I whisper and Allen only mumbles a quiet 'yes' before looking down at the girl who's lying still in his arms.

He moves away and kneels to lay her down. Seeing this, I come up to him and kneel to check on Road as well. There is nothing wrong with her injury wise. But I know for a fact that she's hurting.

_Heaven's Touch, let me heal her, please._

But even when my hands are directly on her there's nothing happening. My powers aren't working on her.

"What's going on?" I mumble. "Heaven's Touch isn't working." A dread starts to set on me and I turn up to Allen to tell him, "I can't heal her." Allen grimaces and looks up at Tyki who sighs heavily.

"Don't look at me," he says. "It might be that the damage goes as deep as the Noah memory." He also makes a point that without Road we cannot escape this place.

_He's right._

Tyki makes a plan that sounds well and good to me but the moment he involves Allen, I know this won't go well. Surely enough he starts fighting back but he's quickly cut off when Clown Crown starts reacting to Apocryphos. Tyki, perhaps overreacting a little, threatens to cut of his arm off again. And then they start bickering and fighting like the idiots they are.

Now isn't the best time for this.

_It's the perfect time._

What? But how—

But as I start listening to what Tyki says, I think I understand why. What he is and the things that are conflicting in him are very dangerous and they certainly do matter. His inactions have as much consequences as his limited actions, perhaps to a much greater effect too.

A sudden explosion takes our attention from the fighting and I can tell that Apocryphos should be close by the feeling I have clinging to me like a second skin. But the fighting that's happening deep in the forest is more than likely the Third Exorcists that we took with us. They're stalling the Order after Allen's escape which means that we have only a smack window of time before we're caught. Only a little to catch the Earl's attention and let him open a Gate for us.

"Boy," Tyki says to Allen. "If you really believe that you are an Exorcist, don't go back. You teach those monsters inside of you who's boss." He turns to me and murmurs to me only, "Stay with them." Tyki is quick to leave but does leave behind a message to Allen. "You'd probably be a terrible poker player right now, anyway."

It's after he leaves that Allen starts musing over his issues, especially the one that Tyki brought up. But when he's doubting himself most, Road's soft voice speaks over everything. Hearing her awake, I run up to her and try to get her to rest but she only gives me a glance and small smile before turning back to Allen.

"Nea—he fought for Mana," she whispers. A sign of tears start to come out as she continues, "It's a…secret." A bright light starts to surround her body until it starts to become faint itself. And this is what sends panic in me. "O…kay…?" She turns into tiny bits of light and vanishes. My hands reach out to her as she disappears and my voice fails me but Allen voices enough distress for both of us.

"Why…?" I hear him whisper to himself as he pounds the ground just after Road disappeared. "What am I…doing wrong?"

"Nothing." When I talk, he turns with a very puzzled expression on his face. "You're doing nothing and that has ramifications too."

"What?"

This needs to be clear to him because if he's going to go out by himself after this, and because there's nothing I can do to change that, then I better prepare him the best I can.

"Tyki's somewhat right about what he told you," I tell him first. "But he missed something. You were born this way and perhaps you were destined to be this but right at this moment there's no room for you to question it." I come over to him and grab him by the shoulders gently so he'll look at me. "You exist, it's useless to question why or how. A better thing to ask is what you'll do with it. Allen, you're a bright young man. You've shown me that during war you're willing to do what must be done to protect those you love. And that's what matters. Do you remember what I told you when we met?"

Allen stares at me for a second, remembering back all that time. "There's people that love me."

"Exactly," I say, tightening my grip on his shoulders. "Ignore what those who don't say about you because in the end they won't care what happens to you. The people who love and care about you will. And no matter what you do, so long as you follow what your heart tells you, I'm sure that they'll understand and support you."

Without thinking I bring the kid closer to me and embrace him. He stiffens a little perhaps out of confusion but lightens up as I keep talking.

"And I know I'm already proud of what you've done," I tell him. "You're a brave young boy, but you surely are scared and waver about your decisions. Just know that as long as you follow your heart, you'll do what's best."

"Do you…really think that?" he asks, his voice no higher than a whisper.

"It's what I have been doing ever since I became a part of this war, Al," I reply and pull him back just enough to look at his face. He looks so lost and yet hopeful at what I have to say. "And I don't regret a single second of it. Just protect the ones you love, nothing else should matter. So long as you keep that to heart and keep walking forth then you'll be sure to follow the path you have made for yourself."

I smile at him before trotting away towards where Tyki left a few minutes ago. "And I'll support you anyway I can. Not as a fellow Exorcist nor as a Noah's advocate but as your friend."

It's the last thing I say to him before I run away towards where I feel Apocryphos' location. Surely, Tyki must be there fighting against him to give Allen some time to escape. The boy will surely use his Ark to escape and will go unscathed. For now I need to get Tyki and escape from this hellhole that's starting up.

It's easy to tell that I'm near the fight because of the countless of black butterflies that are scattered about the place. Once I'm close enough, I see the constant explosions that come and go from Tyki's attacks. I try to be careful as I get near them; I shouldn't go anywhere close to the actual fighting but I can't let Tyki fight alone either. I've seen what that Apo-bastard can do and he's overwhelmed him before which worries me. Those worries turn real when I see that Apocryphos is about to sneak attack Tyki from the side after feinting.

_I won't let you._

"Not while I'm here, bud," I whisper and reach out with my hand. As if I've done this a hundred times, a crystal wall rises from the floor near Tyki's blind side and takes the hit for him. I wince when I feel the thin blade piercing through it but it's nothing seeing as I just saved Tyki unnecessary damage.

Both turn in my direction when they notice what exactly blocked the attack; Tyki with a dumbfounded look and Apocryphos with a dismal glare.

"A pest yet again, Heaven's Touch," he says and charges towards me. I'm ready to block whatever he's got coming my way but there's no need to because Tyki charges at Apocryphos to launch him away from me. Their fight continues but now Apocryphos has me to deal with too. So long as I'm here, he won't get near Tyki's blind spots.

They continue to trade blows for a few more minutes but I can tell that Tyki's getting tired. We've already been here at the Order for a good thirty minutes. Allen should already be safe somewhere else. We only need an exit to get away from this place.

_If only that fatso would notice us._

It seems someone hears my pleas because as soon as I think that something splits through the sky south from us. It breaks the dark cobalt night with a black slit and the bright number above it gives me the reassurance I need. That's one of the Earl's Ark Gates. He's noticed us; we can get away.

But before I can even celebrate about it, I hear more explosions behind me and I turn just in time to cover my face with my arms as the debris comes my way. When the dust starts to clear I catch the sight of Apocryphos throwing Tyki out towards a trunk. It breaks heavily under the pressure of the attack but not completely. Tyki's down on all fours trying to recover himself from the hit and that bastard takes advantage of that and aims for him. But before he even lays a finger I cup my hand and let a small green sphere form before pitching it at Apocryphos. The moment it makes contact with him, I let it expand and it encases him in a prison enabling him from doing any further harm. Running over to Tyki, I grab him by his forearm and pull him to his feet.

"Come on!" I groan and drag him along as we run towards the Gate. "We've got to go!" Now it's just me dragging him along as fast as I can towards the Gate before that bastard gets out of my sphere. Even this far I can feel how he's piercing through the glass from the inside. And what's worse is that I can sense he's not even trying.

It takes Tyki a few seconds before he regains enough strength to start running on his own. He asks if I'm okay and I only nod and point towards the Gate. He understands immediately and we keep going towards it as fast as we can. But when we're just a few more feet away from it, I feel Apocryphos closing in on us. Just like when he was pursuing Allen, I feel this dread that approaches fast towards us.

Then a new horrible feeling sets in on me as a thought settles in my head.

Road disappeared from a single attack from Apocryphos. I don't even want to think what would have happened had it been her real body. And now Tyki's been fighting him well into thirty minutes. He's exhausted. If Apocryphos lands a good hit on him, he could destroy Tyki's Noah memory and even kill him.

_He could_ kill _Tyki._

And I'm not letting that happen.

So instead of following after Tyki, I spin on my heels and summon the shield of Heaven's Touch. He charges at me without ease and the blade edged from his arm gets stuck to my shield.

"You are an ever-growing pain, foreteller," Apocryphos growls at me while giving me a glare. I intend to answer him back but before I can a cracking noise gets my attention. When I look down, what I see shocks me; the blade that he's pierced through half of my shield is now spreading across it as feathers and is only breaking the shield more. "More trouble than what you are worth. That has a simple solution, though."

All in a second I hear and feel something break. First it's my shield and it's what I hear breaking. But what I see and don't feel instantly is the huge spear made of feathers that's piercing my abdomen. The insurmountable pain settles in a fraction of a second later and the warm liquid begins to slowly rise through my throat, spurting from my mouth and onto my shield as it completely shatters.

" _ **No!"**_

I clearly hear Tyki's howling cry before anything else. My eyes see him from my peripheral as he attacks Apocryphos and sends him flying out. The instant his spear dislodges from me, though, the liquid from before flows out like a broken dam. All I taste is hot iron in my mouth before I see the blood spray down on the ground. Everything suddenly becomes slower as my senses start to dull down. A warmth starts pooling from my stomach and I have no strength to think what's happening.

All at once, I feel Tyki's hand forcefully pressing down on my body as he holds me close to him. I keep hearing him say that 'everything's all right' and that 'we'll be home soon.' He keeps saying those things as he presses his hand harder against me. It's hard to keep up with what he's doing though. He's dragging me down towards the Gate from what my blurry vision can catch. And as we go through it, all I can think about is how cold I'm starting to feel.

* * *

Tyki's brain is working like a mad machine as he passes through the Gate with Reina's motionless self. It closes right behind them and the moment it does, Tyki falls to his knees and cradles Reina to him. As he does he can finally see with horror what Apocryphos did to her.

A hole the size of a fist was pierced right through her stomach and the blood was quickly rushing out of her from the injury as well as from her mouth. It terrified him beyond words how pale she had gotten in mere seconds and how it was quickly continuing to progress through her face. Her eyes were losing their green sheen and it only made his breath shallow with panic.

_This can't be happening. She was only behind me by a second. She was supposed to be fine!_

"Ty…ki…?"

Tyki trembles at hearing the weakness in Reina's voice that's barely audible. Her eyes are blurry but she seems to be able to see him.

"I'm here, my queen," he tells her hurriedly. "We're home and safe."

"I—" her sentence is cut short when the liquid makes it hard for her to speak. She coughs and from it her warm blood spews onto him, painting his white uniform crimson. "I'm glad—you're safe…"

_No. Not this again._

Tyki had heard these words before when she came back after the incident of the Ark. He had a vague memory but he did recall Reina's words after she healed him.

" _Welcome…back…"_

There had been so much relief in those two words and also so much pain and lifelessness. This only brought that horrible memory back to him and it was killing him inside to see her like this when he couldn't do anything.

_There is_ something _you can try._

But that would mean giving up to that dreaded Innocence of hers. His blood started boiling at the mere thought of that thing. But it went back to a horrid chill when he heard Reina cough again.

"I'm…cold…"

And Tyki could feel her shuddering as more blood pooled from her injury. It seemed to have closed somewhat but it didn't seem to be closing fast enough. If she kept losing blood like this she wouldn't live through it. And that's what Apocryphos had intended.

He wanted to get rid of the foreteller but Tyki wouldn't let that happen.

_Even if I have to give_ you _my own strength._

Tyki doesn't hesitate after that to grab onto Reina's hand as tightly as he can and brings Reina closer to him. At the close proximity, he can smell the blood vividly and even hears her shallow and raspy breaths as she struggles with each one. If he didn't hurry, she would die and this time she wouldn't come back.

_Come on, you damn thing. Work! Heal her!_

But he didn't feel anything. Her Innocence wasn't reacting to him. Reina didn't even feel warm like she had when she healed him that last time. She just felt…gelid.

Like a corpse.

At that thought his blood runs cold and his eyes shoot open to glance at Reina. The moment they do his heart sinks and he feels like something just crushed his lungs. Her eyes are half opened and glazed. Her full lips stained crimson are parted…but she's not breathing.

She's not making a sound.

He doesn't even feel her heartbeat anymore.

There's just…cold.

"No…" he mumbles and holds her closer not caring about himself and the blood that stains his hands. **"You damn thing!"** he snarls in anger, holding tightly to her body. **"You were supposed to protect her!"** His cries of blame and despair mix together as he tries his hardest not to weep…but it's hard. All in an instant he felt her life being snuffed out.

And not only hers—the hand on her back touches the injury that destroyed her abdomen—but their child's.

Tyki had lost the two people that had come to mean the world to him and all in an instant. They were taken from him and in the midst of the anger that raged in him, he also felt an immense emptiness. Before when she went into a coma it was a numbness that never left. But this…it felt like a ghost that would never let him live in peace with himself.

As he held her tightly to himself, he felt the sting from his eyes disappear as warm tears streamed down his face and onto Reina's lifeless body. And in that moment he did what he had never done before: he prayed.

"I don't care what you are or what God you serve," he cries in a hoarse whisper that hurts his throat. "I don't even care that you're a part of the Heart and the rest of those wretched Innocence. Your duty is to protect her; **do your fucking job!** I don't care what you take from me! Take all of me if that's what it takes. Just—Just…"

_Don't take Reina away from me._

But only bleak silence answers his pleas. And for that he truly wept while embracing her. Because if there wasn't a God who would save her—such a pure, beautiful, and innocent soul—then there truly never was one. He knew there wouldn't be any sense in anything anymore. Not without her.

She didn't deserve to die.

_I was supposed to protect._

But Tyki didn't. He failed her, failed their child, and it cost him the dearest thing he had ever had in his life. And he wept for that. He cried until he felt like his voice would give up on him.

And he stopped once he was forced to despite the sadness in him overwhelming him to such a great degree. But despite stopping the pain didn't cease. In fact, it intensified. He felt a searing hot pain that traveled from his hands to everywhere in his body. It was the worst pain he had ever felt, almost comparable to what he had experienced in the Ark.

But with the pain a brief hope ignited in him.

_Is she—?_

The sharp breath that Reina takes answers him and lets relief wash over him. The moment he hears her start shallowly breathing again, he pulls back to give her a little of space and to see for himself. And to his relief, he sees the light in her emerald eyes return as they frantically move around as if trying to find him. Her lips although parted are moving and taking in air.

She's alive.

_Reina's alive._

" _Meu amor,"_ he whispers with a hoarse voice that he tries to hide.

"W-What…happened…?" she faintly asks through her raspy breathes.

But Tyki refuses to answer her. If he even mentions it, he's afraid that it'll just shatter this miracle that brought her back to him. "Nothing, _minha rainha_. You're home and you're with me."

Tyki waits for a few minutes to make sure that Reina won't stop breathing if she's brusquely moved. Once sure she's as all right as she'll be for the moment, he picks her up and takes her to their room. He doesn't bother to clean her or himself and instead goes straight to lay her on the bed and joins her at her side while holding her close to him.

She doesn't speak a word and simply lets him be with her. It's not until she raises her hand shakenly to her stomach that she asks the one thing he didn't want to answer.

"Tyki…" she says hoarsely. "W-Why…can't I feel…it?"

Tyki doesn't reply and instead holds her tighter as if with that he would be able to shield her from the pain that will soon hit her. Not physical pain, but pain of a much worse kind.

"Tyki?" she repeats, this time a little harsher despite not being able to breathe well. "What…happened to me? Why…can't I feel their heartbeat?"

"I'm sorry, Reina." Tyki couldn't find any other words to say to her. Silence would be the worst answer but this wasn't any better. It would just confirm the worst to both of them. "I'm sorry, my queen."

There's nothing but her shallow breathing for a few seconds until their plight sinks in her. When it does Reina simply let's out the loudest cry he'd ever heard from her. Even when she exhausts her voice quickly, she only takes another breath to start crying. All Tyki can do is hold her and be thankful that he at least saved one of them.

But he knew that Reina would never see it that way.

She would never be thankful for being alive again.

Not when in the end it cost them the most precious life they would never meet.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Twenty-Six** _

**Saving Grace**

* * *

" _And the little boy now falls into his deepest sleep_  
Deeply breathing the gray ashes among shinning flames  
First comes one, then another…  
So many faces emerging of our beloved one  
And thousands fall, trickling upon this earth  
Sweet dreams you keep dreaming

_Night falls and all there is are your silver eyes trembling_  
Among the gleaming light where the shinning you was born  
A hundred thousand or a million years across  
I'll live on till I return all of the due prayers to the earth

_God, please teach this boy what love is_  
As I sing to him a prayer now  
Lay a kiss upon the hands you hold"

* * *

A tiny mist tinges at the corner of my eyes as the soft lulling voice quiets down as I wake. Underneath me are the same dark red silk sheets that I recognize from our room. The cool sensation they send across my aching body soothes it. My mind is another mess completely though. Because of the weird dream I had, my mind's somewhat fuzzy and I can't really remember the dream itself.

Everything is hazy.

_How did I get home?_

Slowly I start going through my mind and the short memories that I have about a few hours ago. My memory is really screwed up but I manage to piece things little by little.

After the things that happened in the North American Branch, we stayed home for a few days. Then I remembered that Allen was going to get abducted and went to him. But I didn't go alone.

We saved Allen from Apocryphos.

Road got hit and disappeared.

I left Allen alone to go help Tyki.

I remember being scared. I remember the pain and being cold. I remember Tyki's voice vaguely calling to me.

Then I woke up and—

My breath hitches and my hand comes up to my stomach. It's then that I feel a scar that's already healed and mars my stomach diagonally. A surge of pain so great courses through me as everything else from the other night comes to me.

Along with the worst memory that I wish I had the power to erase.

_My baby's dead._

* * *

Tyki let out an exasperated breath as he treaded his way to one of the chambers in the Ark. He had just left Reina asleep after she had cried for over two hours. And even though he hadn't shed a tear, there was enough shredded in him to equal the pain she had voiced.

And it wasn't like he had wanted to leave her either but there was something that he had to tell Sheril before he found out any other way. Walking through the double doors of the chamber, Tyki was glad that he wouldn't have to go searching for his older brother. Luckily the eldest sibling was still with both the Bookman and his Junior, torturing information out of the former by injecting the latter with Fiidora's parasites.

Ignoring that imperious issue, he got Sheril to walk away from the torturing for a couple of minutes for Tyki to relay what had happened. And as expected he wasn't taking it well.

"While protecting Allen Walker…" he said slowly as if trying to digest the information. "Road disappeared, you say…?"

Tyki knew that it would come as a shock to him. It was really irritating that he had to explain it word by word to his brother but he found himself doing it nonetheless. Even when Sheril started his tantrum about Road disappearing, Tyki had to convince him that nothing really bad had happened. And it irked him greatly that Sheril had the leisure to break down in anger like that when he hadn't had a restful second to do so himself. Especially when unlike Road, his kid—

He shook his head and that thought away before going to reassure Sheril once more. Tyki then informed Fiidora to keep his parasites in both the exorcist, Chaoji, and on Bookman's junior. But as Tyki told his instructions to him, he hadn't been on the lookout for Sheril's manic outburst. It took him a bit by surprise when Sheril used his powers and upped Junior's torture by a whole lot demanding Bookman to tell him what relationship Road and the 14th had had in the past.

Tyki, already tired both mentally and physically, put a hand on his shoulder and tried to pull him back. "Come on, Sheril. Calm—"

"No!" he shouted, shoving Tyki away from him. "My Road shouldn't have disappeared! You should have protected her better! **And now because of the 14** **th** **and your incompetence she's gone!** "

That single sentence made Tyki snap. Hauling Sheril by his shirt, he lifted his brother off his feet and brought him harshly against the closest wall he had. The room fell silent at the sudden animosity, even Sheril's anger lost some fervor when he caught the rage that was reflected in his younger brother's eyes. And Tyki wasn't about to hold back either.

_You whine,_ brother _? Fucking unbelievable._

"Don't you dare complain!" he yelled at Sheril's face. But when he noticed his voice was much too high for what he wanted to say next, he lowered it to a growl that held no less animosity. "All she needs is time to recover. She'll come back. Mine won't."

"Yours?"

At hearing his brother's voice with that tinge of concern, Tyki couldn't help but look him in the eyes. This time he saw that same emotion on Sheril's eyes along with great confusion.

"What do you mean by—" But the realization came over Sheril faster than Tyki wanted it to. Before he could say anything that Tyki would seriously gut him for, he left Sheril to stand there before he started to leave. It wasn't fast enough, though, because Sheril managed to conjure a coherent thought to say to his brother. "The mutt is expecting…?"

The simple use of that one word pained Tyki in more ways than one. But instead of resorting to anger like he had done before, this time he just looked over his shoulder and answered his brother.

"Was," Tyki replied loud enough to be heard. "Apocryphos hurt her—it's gone."

Not wanting to hear anything else, he left the room with that sentence lingering. But the thought that he hadn't spoken aloud seared his mind with a promise of retribution.

_And he_ will _pay for it._

* * *

Tyki slowly turned the knob to open the door into their room expecting Reina to still be asleep. By the silence and darkness that he heard and saw once he got it sufficiently open, he thought that she had still to wake. Taking a step into the room, he was caught off guard when he heard glass crack underneath his feet. He lifted his foot just enough to see the shards of broken glass that he had inadvertently stepped on. As the light from outside streamed into the room letting tiny pieces on the floor gleam, he had the impression that the glass under his foot wasn't the only one in the room.

But it wasn't just glass. He turned on the lights dimly and was greeted by the mess that had been sown across the room. Pieces of broken glass were scattered across the floor. Porcelain and clay of shattered vases accompanied the chaos. The bed was in complete disarray with the mattress bare, pillows and sheets torn to shreds. It was like a hurricane came through the room.

And it was then that his eyes landed upon the tiny ball of fury that was eerily silent at the far corner of the room. Tyki took each step carefully treading through the room towards Reina, but stopped short when he saw something peculiar glinting from the light. At first he dismissed it as more broken glass but when it seemed more whole than the rest he bend down to look closer at it. Holding it in his hands, he guessed it as just a compact mirror. Something like the ones Lulubell carried. But every question he had about it left when he opened it to find a couple of pictures inside.

Taking it with him, Tyki walked through the hazardous floor and found his way to the balled-up Reina who had still hadn't said a word. Cleaning space for himself with his foot, he took a sit next to her. It surprised him that even when their shoulders were touching, Reina hadn't moved an inch or said anything. He didn't want to force her but the deafening silence was a bit more than he could take.

So instead he focused his attention back to the compact frame that he knew belonged to his queen. Two pictures that he had never seen laid next to each other. One of a couple that resembled Reina who held a baby in a knitted green blanket. The other of a family that didn't resemble her at all but that seemed to care quite a lot about her as they celebrated.

_Her parents. Her family._

Both painted such a wonderful picture the likes he'd never witnessed before. Having lived the life he had before and after becoming a Noah, his definition of family varied. But hers seemed to have been planted quite firmly despite having lost both her birth parents at such an age.

"You look like your mother."

Tyki spoke unconsciously, not knowing if he had really let the thought slip or not, but it had been enough to render some of Reina's attention. Her head slowly rose from between her legs and turned to face him. The look in her eyes shocked him. A gleam was gone from them and they eerily reminded him of what she had looked like dead for those god forsaken seconds.

She reached out with her hand for the frame which Tyki returned. Lifting her head Reina, looked over both as if searching for something. An answer most likely, he thought. But he doubted she'd find it there. Not like he had any answer either. He suffered through another long silence until her small, hoarse voice spoke up.

"I never met her," she said into the air not really facing him. Her thumb gently caressed the picture of the couple holding a baby. _Holding her._ "Papa never told me anything about her. I met her…at the cemetery, buried next to him. Never in my life did I meet this woman and yet—" she choked slightly but didn't let herself cry. "I felt loved. I never knew what it was to be held by her or to hear her tell me she loved me. But somehow after I found out more of her there didn't seem a need. I just knew."

Her expression turned sour then and a mist began to cover her eyes. She forced it back with a blink but that hadn't stopped her hands from shaking. Instinctively, Tyki brought his arm over her shoulders to bring her closer to him. She went completely still at his touch but slowly molded into his embrace.

"I hoped—" she whispered barely audible, "to be a mother like that. If I had been a modicum of what Mama was for me then maybe— _mi pequeño—_ "

She broke into hysterics when she couldn't finish her sentence. Tyki could tell she was trying so hard not to cry and it hurt him. She shouldn't have to hold herself back. But there was no use telling her that. He knew her enough to realize that if he even voiced that thought she would have a comeback ready. One that may sound idiotic to his ears but needed no reason to hers.

_She's blaming herself._

"Shh," he whispered and cradled her closer against him. It wasn't until she was breathing normally again that he said anything. "There's only so much you could've done, Reina. I should've been more careful, too; I'm sorry I broke my promise to you both."

_I couldn't protect neither of you._

That sole reminder of almost having lost not just their child but also her sent a chill down his spine that made him hold her tighter. "To me, you're every bit as precious as it was, Reina. After we returned and I saw your injuries, I couldn't breathe. I had realized already that we had lost them, but the mere thought of losing you too—" he couldn't finish that thought and instead held her so close that her nails started digging onto his chest where she'd been holding onto him. "You're alive, _minha rainha._ That's all that matters now."

But that wasn't going to be enough.

Not for her.

"I'm tired."

Ignoring him and the glass on the floor, she walked herself to the bed and simply laid on the bare mattress curled up in a ball.

_There it is._

He knew there was going to be that definite cut-off the instant he mentioned her. Reina wasn't going to care that she had lived. In fact, knowing her she would resent it. But he wasn't going to take his words back, and he would never admit that he would have rather their child survive than her. Even if it was only to placate her conscious.

Tyki knew they would get through this. Despite what she felt now, she would eventually come back out of it. She always did. He just hoped she wouldn't do something stupid with the heavy guilt she carried.

* * *

As the days went by though, it seemed that Tyki was highly underestimating the remorse she had. Four excruciating days had gone by and Reina seemed to only be sinking deeper.

At night she would never speak a word and would hardly sleep fully without waking up thrashing. During the day it seemed to be worse. It wasn't so much the fact that she didn't come out but that she refused to eat. Any meal, breakfast or dinner, had gone completely untouched. No matter if he ate with her or if she ate alone.

Tyki had seen her depressed before. She would cry, she would get livid as hell, she would even pack a good punch to anything nearby as she had done the first night of thrashing the room. But he had never seen this before.

Utter detachment.

It was like she was completely gone. And he was running out of ideas to dig her out of the grave she was making for herself. Tyki had never dealt with someone in this state. Surely Road would have known how to snap her out of this stupor or at least know how to start. Tyki was as blind about it as he was to her pain. He had dealt with his own pain day by day and although it was still hurting, he still had Reina to take care of.

She was his priority now that she was so unstable.

But he couldn't help her if she didn't let him. It was that simple fact that irritated him most of all. Reina clearly didn't want to be helped.

And that became clearer to him as he sat against the bed post that fifth morning staring her down. Reina had still to move an inch from where she sat with her back against the headboard and had certainly not picked anything to eat from the plate he'd brought her.

"Starving yourself won't do you any good, Reina," he chided but gathered no response from her. Reina simply stayed lost in her daze.

Clearly frustrated but trying to keep himself on check, he couldn't help but sigh irritably. _Maybe she'll eat if she's alone_. But he knew that that wasn't the case either. She was just slowly doing herself in.

_And staying here won't help her one bit, either._

But could he really move her?

As things stood, if he decided to, Tyki could very easily take her away from the mansion. Ever since the incident of the North American Branch, the Earl had been on a quiet spree. Neither his brother nor any of the Noah had really bothered except with mindless errands. And most importantly Tyki was finally regaining control over himself again. Since the incident at the old Ark there had been something impeding him from completely turning back to his human form; and without letting it be known, he had been working on transforming back into it without having his Noah backfire. So far it had worked and he was able to keep appearances up between intervals of days. All those things in consideration gave him a really good excuse to get out of this place and drag Reina along with him.

_But where…?_

Tyki guessed the answer before he knew it.

Before he could think it any further, he got up and began packing lightly for them. Every now and then he would turn to face Reina only to catch her glancing his way curiously. She wanted to know what he was doing but she wouldn't be first to ask. So instead he answered her question.

"We're leaving for a while."

* * *

Reina hadn't done anything when he told her about their sudden departure. There was no peep, no argument—nothing. She was becoming submissive and it was freaking him out. The queen he knew would never stay quiet about him making a decision she hadn't had a vote in. She would've been furious at the apparent misogyny.

_But then I'm not dealing with the usual Reina._

No. This woman who sat in front of him as the train traveled wasn't the fiery girl who'd captivated him. She was shattered to the core. He only hoped he would find a way to pull her back together again.

And he wasn't going to start with the wrong foot, either. He'd already called the guys beforehand to inform them as vaguely as possible as to what had happened. Thankfully for his sanity and emotional stability, they hadn't asked anything despite the vagueness. They only said they would take the precautions necessary to ready themselves for Reina. Tyki would never fully voice it but he thanked them infinitely for the consideration. At least that would be one less thing to worry about.

Speaking of things to worry about, Tyki had to be careful while treading in his human life for the time being. His powers being as unstable as they were, it would be imperative that he takes caution with them. Their luck as it was would force him to transform back into a Noah and do some killing that he wasn't very much fond of doing for once.

The hours of the train ride went by slower than usual as torturous silence hung around them. Reina still refused to say a word and was only staring out the window as the scenery passed. One thing that Tyki had noticed though was that she was not letting go of the compact frame. It physically hurt him to see her so devastated and detached but he wasn't one to give up easily.

Had he been, she wouldn't be with him to begin with.

They reached the little town of Pavillion sooner than he expected but not soon enough. Taking their stuff, her and Tyki came off to find the streets crowded. Vendors stood on every corner while costumers were haggling for the goods beings sold. The last time they had been here was almost a year ago and it had been the place where they all first met. Certainly Reina hadn't forgotten it because despite her stupor she still seemed to recognize the small town bustling with so many people. Not willing to risk losing her in the crowd, Tyki grabbed her hand tightly in his while holding their stuff on the other before heading straight through the sea of people.

Sweaty bodies clashed against each other in the plain summer heat and it was unbearably disgusting for one. The other was that it was getting him highly irritable. It took another twenty minutes for them to reach the tiny house that he knew was where they took residence in now that they were in Pavillion. Just like before it wasn't far from the woods that skirted the town but it was far enough from the town that there wasn't much noise like in the station.

It was when they were getting close to the small house that Reina planted her feet on the ground, yanking her hand away from Tyki's. At the unexpected reaction, Tyki turned to find Reina fiddling with her hands nervously, a clear façade of disgust painted on her face.

What was the matter with her now? But the answer came quicker than he could think it.

_She's scared._

He could understand that much at least but he wasn't about to let her turn reclusive again. Turning fully to face her, Tyki grabbed her chin delicately with his fingers and brought her dazed gaze to his own. The emptiness in them still shocked him but more than anything it was scary.

Tyki wasn't one to feel fear. He was always more the type to deliver it. But he would admit to himself that the tiny woman in front of him could cause him the most harrowing panic he had ever felt; one he was sure only she could wring from him. He loved her just as much as she feared losing her. And that glazed over gaze was what he abhorred most from her.

"Reina, we're out of that place," he reassured her. "We won't be seeing anything of anyone from there anytime soon. I will give you as much time as I can to recover. And believe me, I need it too. But maybe we might need more than each other for this."

He let his hand drop from her face and to his surprise, Reina kept her gaze locked to his. Dropping his hand lower, Tyki laid it were she held the compact frame like a safety line and held her hands tightly around it.

"You're trying to find comfort where you can't be answered, Reina," he told her. "We're here, they're not. We're alive, speak to us. Speak to me, my queen, and I will answer. But you have to take the first step yourself. Just know I'm here to help you." His eyes caught movement behind her and wandered slightly to catch three figures in the distance. Tyki's gaze quickly returned to her to give her the news. "And so are they."

Turning to follow his line of sight, Reina's eyes widened slightly as a group of silhouettes she recognized came down the small hill towards the house. They all saw Tyki and Reina at the same time but it was Eeze who moved first and ran up to them, shouting their names enthusiastically. He gave Tyki a hug before turning to Reina who was fidgety on her feet. Eeze only grew sympathetic before he reached out and grabbed her hand into his. Reina looked into the small boy's eyes and saw the sincere smile on them that reached her with ease.

Eeze tightened his hold on her hand for a brief second before saying, "Welcome home, Rei-nee."

Tyki heard as the guys reached them but didn't dare tear his sight away from Reina. He wanted to see if she would blow Eeze off as she had everyone else. But as he had expected, the change of atmosphere and people were something that was needed.

Reina gave him the smallest smile he had ever seen from her. It was minute but it was there. And despite her eyes still having that dazed-over look, he knew that he'd made the right choice by bringing her here.

Especially when she finally spoke.

"I'm home."

* * *

The days have gone by rather slow.

It's been hard for me to even function at times. During the morning, my moods have been radical but because I don't want to get mad at them for no reason, I simply stay in bed for a little while longer than they do.

It's difficult to explain just how I've been feeling this past week. The only thing I can compare it with is to when I was being medicated during my days of court. My body feels heavy to move, my appetite's been gone for almost the whole week and I can't conceive any sleep since then. There are no real words I can say to explain the deep emotions that are anchoring me at this very moment.

Back at the mansion, I had an excuse to stay in bed. Here, a part of myself wants to try. Seeing Tyki wanting to help me was something that I understood but it also felt forced, like he felt obligated to make me feel better. But Eeze and the guys, I don't think that in their case there's any such forcefulness. With them it feels more genuine; they want me to get better because they care what happens to me.

Tyki may love me but he's just as in much pain as I am. He needs his time as much as I do. But I can't bring myself to work through it as well as he's pretending to. I just feel heavy. Like I'm sinking to the bottom of the ocean with my feet chained to cement blocks, my lungs slowly breathing in water that just weighs me down more. It feels heavy, makes me ache, but most of all I feel an overwhelming emptiness.

And it's terrifyingly similar to how I used to be when I was a kid in Noir's care. Devoid of life, of emotions. No conscious except during dreams. Not dreams—nightmares. Those are what haunt me now too. I can't even sleep through a full hour without flashes going through my mind. The same scene from the forest with Apocryphos comes back to me and replays like a horror film I'm too used to but still cringe at. It's like I'm trying to find a way, some excuse, some exit, to see if I had a chance to avoid it. But no matter how much I keep reliving that awful night I can't find anything.

And that's the worst part.

I knew that I was getting myself in danger. I knew that there was a chance I could get injured during the fight. And yet I still went. I chose to go and paid the price for my choice.

If only I had been more careful. If only I had known.

_Would you have chosen differently?_

I never dare answer that question each time I think of it. It always comes and I never reply, I only leave it hanging and let my thoughts linger further to dark places. It's the only comfort that I can think of.

Now that I'm here with the guys and Eeze though, it's harder to just go through the days in the perpetual melancholy I carry. That I can't irritates me to some degree but I don't let it show. As I grew older I knew how important keeping appearances was, especially for a family of respected lawyers as the O'Conners were. The days with them have forced me to sleep without thrashing much, to eat tiny bits more, and to interact with others.

I just want to be left alone…but I don't want to hurt them either.

So I just sway precariously through the days, edging between my mounting annoyance and holding my nonexistent peace. My annoyance, though, is slowly piling through their actions.

I know for a fact Tyki had already talked to them about what had happened to me because none of them have dared asked me why I'm so depressed. They know and they're doing what they can to lift my spirits, to make me feel better. But that's just it. I don't want them to coddle me. I've been coddled before after situations that left me detached and hallow, it didn't really work. I just saw them as condescending people who wanted for me to get over things so that they could stop taking care about me. And though I know that Eeze and the guys are not the same as those bastards, their actions are much too reminiscent of the past.

They treat me like I've been cracked and they're trying desperately not to break me further. But I am, and it's their intentions that are breaking me with anger.

And it's during dinner that I finally snap. We were just eating peacefully when the guys start to ask me if I'd like to go out during the weekend. I ask them if they're really free to do such things when they have work but they brush it off as if nothing and say it's not that big of a deal.

"We can skip work for a day or two."

They can.

_But they shouldn't._

"I don't think you should," I simply say, reigning in my rising temper.

"It's not gonna be bad for us, lil' queen," Momo tries to assure me in vain. "We'll be fine if we miss a couple of days. 'Sides, we should all hang out more and enjoy."

_They shouldn't, not because of me._

"From the books Eeze has been keeping, I doubt there's any time now to do that." I'm biting my tongue hard to not tell them how stupid of an idea this is.

_Please, stop it._

"It was already decided, anyway," Clark says, ignoring me completely. "Even Tyki thought it'd be a good idea. We deserve a break once in a while and well, it wouldn't be too bad for you either, lil'queen."

At hearing this, I turn to Tyki who has this beguiling grin that was only adding to my ire. "We all thought it'd be good for you."

_Don't try to make me feel better._

Eeze grabs me by my arm and makes me turn to him. The smile in his eyes tells me he wants to go out too but I also see the anguish in them. He wanted to help and I get it but…

_Don't do it. Not when it won't matter._

The instant that thought crosses my mind, I can't help myself anymore and rise from my seat at the table. The chatter instantly stops and even though I can't see them I know that they're staring at me, questioning what it is I'm doing. But I don't face any of them and instead get out and start for the door.

"Lil'queen!" Clark calls out, trying to stop me. "What's the matter?"

"Something wrong?" Momo chimes in.

"Rei-nee?"

"Reina, what's—"

" **Just shut up already!"**

Silence.

Nothing but my heavy pants of anger are heard through the room. My eyes dart up and down, half of me wanting to face them and the other wanting to look away in shame. But the former half won, the one that was being pushed by my exasperation and all the other emotions that had piled up on me till now.

And it's more than just emotions lumping on me; my eyes are stinging with tears that threaten to fall from my eyes and a ball dares me to speak louder than a croak. But nothing stops me at this point. Not when the dam I had so carefully constructed to keep myself in check had been broken down to pieces.

"Stop smothering me! I know that you guys know about what happened and that you're trying to do what you think is best. But I _can't_ take this anymore!" By this time I have their full attention and I swallow the embarrassment that dies quickly. "I'm not some broken thing that needs to be handled with care. I don't need for you to indulge me so much. I'm not a kid!"

"Reina we're not—"

" **I don't care!"** I'm so lost in my fury that I don't even know who spoke just now but I don't let anybody else voice themselves. "I just-I just want— **Just leave me alone!"** And through their screams and pleas, I'm running out the door.

The dank, humid air of the summer night hits me fast as I slam the door open to the outside and run out of there. I don't care to where. It doesn't really matter either.

_I just want to be left alone._

* * *

The crisp air from outside blows gently across the clearing that I now sit in. The breeze brought with it the scent of herbs and fresh grass, something that helped me to steadily calm my nerves.

I just ran out of the house and kept running not really caring where I was going. That's how I ended up here; I just kept running until I found familiar sights. It's been quite some time since I've been in Pavillion town but I clearly remember this small prairie that I had found the first time I came here. And because we're in the middle of summer it looked just like it had that night albeit it a tad bit hotter.

The anger seeping through me hadn't subsided at all and I wouldn't be standing had I not gotten so tired after running so far into the woods. Despite that, however, I'm still livid and needed fresh air and solitude to deal with my problems.

When I hear some rustling behind me, it seems that those are the things I'm never going to get. Before anything else, I get up and face Tyki who's treading through the trees to reach where I am. Once he does I don't even give him enough leeway to say anything and instead speak out myself.

"I don't care what you have to say right now, Tyki," I instantly say and start pacing relentlessly around the clearing. "Leave me be before I rage out on you again."

"Why'd you get angry in the first place?"

That sole question makes me even more livid.

"Because I'm not some delicate thing that will break if you don't take care of me!" I shout and feel my hands clench into fists wanting desperately to punch something. Before I even dare do something stupid, I turn on my heel and hit the first thing that's in my line of sight which ends up being a tree. My fist connects with the trunk with such force that I feel the recoil all through my body. The bone of my arm aches a split second later but it quickly goes away.

_Fuck you, too, Heaven's Touch._

Right now, nothing is free from my wrath. Before I can think anything of it, I keep punching the tree and before long start kicking it too. The pain that hits my limbs is something compared to the numbness that I feel inside, so I let the pain replace the emptiness. All my attention is brought onto the tree trunk before me and every fiber of my being just wants to tear it down.

I only manage to get some hits in before Tyki comes close enough to grab at my wrist and stop another one of my punches. But instead of stopping, I pivot on my heel and follow up with another punch with my left fist directly at Tyki's chest. He hisses but doesn't make a move to say or do anything else. Neither do I.

Instead, his presence lets what just happened sink in.

_I just…hit Tyki._

My eyes widen at the realization of what I did; not only had I hit him hard, I punched him right where his scars are. The ones that still ached him.

"Tyki, I'm—"

"Hit me."

"W-What?" When I ask this, I'm forced to arch my neck up and face him. The moment my eyes meet his, they're not dark brown anymore like they are when he's human. Instead they're the vibrant gold that have mesmerized from the first day I saw them. The same ones that I've learned to love but that now bring me more turmoil than anything.

"Hit me if that's going to make you feel better," he says with a deep voice. When he doesn't flinch or even speak again, I know for a fact that he means it.

"I would never—" but I had. Instead of saying what I had thought first, I shake my head and say something else. "I don't want to hurt you."

"No?" he scoffs at that and it sends chills down my spine. "Don't fret, lil'queen, you didn't hurt me. The _others_ however are another story entirely. Not only did you vent out and yell in their faces but you basically told them to fuck off." The moment I open my mouth to retort he interjects, "Am I wrong?"

_No._

But my anger overrides my logic.

"I don't care," I hiss instead and glare daggers his way. "I'm not some kid you guys need to watch over because you're scared I'll hurt myself. I'm sad, not stupid. I just want to be left alone!"

"Why?" he asks forcefully and holds tightly to my wrist so that I can't sprint away again. "So you can go mourn by yourself and hide everything behind a fake smile? So that you can just bury everything and go on like the walking dead? Is that what you want?!"

Each question echoes through my mind and they make it hard to think. I can't process any and instead let any answer come out.

"No!"

"No, what?" he asks, raising his voice.

"No!" I simply yell again and try yanking my wrist from his hold but he's too strong. I'm never going to get free if he doesn't willingly let me. "Just—let go!"

"I'm not doing that until you tell me what you want from us!"

" **I want my baby back!"**

I stop fighting when the scream is out of me. Just as those words slip from my lips I feel the stinging that had been on my eyes leave as the tears pour out. The emptiness is gone and is replaced by emotions that I didn't want to let take control of me.

Sadness.

Melancholy.

Regret.

Longing.

Once the dam breaks I can't help but cry out and let all of them and more wash over me. "I want our child. I want to be a family…— **I-I-I don't want to be alone again!** "

It's when I finish what I have to say that Tyki grabs me and pulls me into his arms to embrace me as hard as he can. This time I don't push him away or yell at him. Instead I grab onto his shirt like my life depends on it, and to some degree at this very moment it does. For what felt like forever I hold him tightly and let his overwhelming yet calming presence soothe me as I weep. All he does is hold me tenderly against him, resting his cheek against my head. It's then that I feel something wet drip on it. It's strange because he's not saying a word and yet I can hear him clear as day.

" _I'm here and I'll cry with you. You're not alone."_

And for once I didn't argue with what he suggested. Leaning fully against him, I did what I wanted to do for a long time but hadn't since that night: I cried. I cried cursing the gods and everything in this world for what had happened. I damned the Innocence that couldn't save my child. Most of all I cursed the bastard Apocryphos that had killed them.

But by the end of my weeping, the rage is gone. My mind isn't even on revenge by the time I'm done. Yet I'm not empty either. Instead all I feel is the warmth that Tyki gives off with his body flush to mine. It's…odd.

So much crying left me exhausted and my knees become weak and wobbly. When they buckle underneath me from the strain, Tyki doesn't let go and instead brings me down to sit down with him on the clearing. I hold onto him like the anchor he is for me.

"You know, there was an orphan I knew once."

Somewhat confused but too tired to ask what he's talking about, I simply snuggle against his chest and let the rumble of his voice booming through his chest calm my quiet sobs.

"One day he met an older woman that worked as a seamstress. The boy wasn't liked much by the vendors in the town because they said he scared off the customers but the seamstress was different towards him. She didn't dismiss him like some riffraff and instead saw something else in him. Maybe she saw what others refused to, the lost little boy that just wanted to be loved. So what she would do is invite him in for tea, food and company and sometimes for his help with deliveries that she would pay him far more than what she had to. As time went by he started seeing her as some sort of mother figure; she was someone who cared for him and to some extent loved him."

Tyki told the child's tale in a passive tone that sounded like when he would talk about his times with the guys and Eeze before she came upon them. One of his hands comes over my head and starts brushing through my hair with gently his fingers so as to not pull it if tangled. The movement and feeling of his hand against my throbbing head is soothing.

"One day she told him something that he didn't quite understand. She said that sometimes bad things happen. Some more often than others but they happen to all. How they answer to them is how their value and life is defined. One can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of loss, or they can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift they have—life itself."

He pauses briefly but only enough to take a deep, calming breath, as if it were suddenly hard for him to keep talking.

"The day after, the seamstress died from a disease she had kept secret from him. And though it took him some time to come to terms with what had happened, he eventually did. Once he had there was one thing he came to understand: she had been trying to prepare him. She tried teaching him to live past a pain that would most likely never leave him." Tyki didn't speak after that and let a few seconds of silence linger between us. Although he had said this was about an orphan, there's something that tells me he was talking about himself as the lonely boy he had grown up as. I hear him take a deep breath and feel his chest fill to the brim before he speaks again. "And you know, I think it's our turn to work through what happened. I know for one, that I'm never going to forget this pain of losing our child. But I'll be forever grateful that I didn't lose you."

Something about what he says clicks in my head and it's only then that I have my first clear thought since that tragic night. All this time I've been blinded by my rage, pain, and sadness that I failed to see the people that I still had right in front of me.

Tricia, Momo, Clark, Jasdero and Devit, Road, Eeze, and Tyki.

I've lost my child to Apocryphos and that's bad enough. Now I'm losing everybody else…and I'm the one driving them away.

_How blind have I been?_

"Keeping those who care about you close at times like these will hold you stronger than any mountain ever could."

How right he is. And it's such a shame that it took me this long to realize something so simple. Drawing back from his embrace, I glance up to face him and instead of the anger from before all I see is tenderness in Tyki's face and the small tears that stick to his lower lashes.

Without thinking, my hands reach up to cup his face and with my thumbs, I wipe the tears that had welled up. Being the way he is, he pouts at my noticing his tears but doesn't pull away from my hands. Once I'm done I study his face carefully, the way his jawline is lined so perfectly, his full lips that are tremendous when kissing, and those mesmerizing gold eyes that captivated me the first time I saw them. Letting my emotions lead me from here, I grab onto his neck and pull him a bit down to me so that I could press my lips to his. The gesture seems to be something he didn't expect because he freezes slightly but regains some semblance and returns it. Despite how tender his touch was before, the kiss we share now is more than that. It's fierce and uncontrollable; to me it's almost like I'm breathing the very air I need to live. And who am I kidding, this man has come to mean exactly that and more. Despite what we might think or say, how much we might argue, or that we suffered such a great loss, for the two it doesn't erase one simple truth.

_He loves me._

"I love you, Tyki," I whisper onto his lips just when we separate enough to breath.

I feel the slight perk of his lips when I say that and he simply kisses me for a slight second more before answering, "And I you, my queen."

"And I loved our baby," I tell him finally letting everything out. He's right, after all. I can't deal with this all by myself. "And I'm going to miss him."

"Me too, Reina," he says in the tiniest of whispers before giving a slight kiss to my forehead. "Me too."

We stay there for a few hours and it's well after sundown that I yawn from how tired I am. Tyki notices this and looks down from where he's still holding me in his lap.

"We should head back."

There's no arguing with him on that one, so I let him take me back home. I'm a bit afraid of going in but when we do enter there's no one in the kitchen or dining table. It's obvious that we lost track of time while having our talk and got back home pretty late.

"Let's get you to bed," he whispers so as to not make much noise. He leads me to my room which I had been sharing with Eeze. To my surprise, however, Eeze isn't in the room and I figure that Tyki must have talked to the guys before he went out looking for me. He wanted for me to be left alone.

_Like I asked._

But strangely enough now that I knew better I didn't wanted to be left alone. And just as Tyki is turning to leave, my hand reaches out to stop him by the hem of his shirt. He turns, expecting for me to say something.

It takes a few seconds but I finally muster up the voice to say, "Can you stay here, with me?"

Tyki's brow arches up in concern and confusion. "You want me to?" Not wanting to hear my voice crack, I give him a small nod. Thankfully, he doesn't ask any further and only says, "If my queen asks of me, then I shall gladly obliged."

His characteristic humor hits me and makes a smile creep on my lips. He seems to notice it too because he bends down to where I'm sitting on the bed to give me a gentle kiss. "Have I ever told you how beautiful your smile is?"

"Don't think so," I say quietly, knowing that with us being this close he can clearly hear me.

"Then allow me to elaborate…" He deepens the kiss and our tongues dance together but it quickly picks up the pace as he turns back to that fierce man that I witnessed back in the woods. His hands start to roam around my body, gently caressing each patch of skin that isn't covered well by clothes. But when he starts to reach under my shirt, my stomach clenches not with heat but with pain. At hearing me whimper he pulls back and stares at me, concerned. "You okay?"

I shake my head before looking up at him with a grimace. "My stomach's hurting. It's too soon, I think."

Tyki gazes down at it before sighing deeply. The thought of him leaving because I don't feel like having sex with him now crosses my mind but is erased completely when he kisses me gently on my forehead, nose, and then lips.

"Don't worry," he assures me with one of the kindest smiles I've ever seen from him. "I'll dance at your pace. I won't do anything you don't want me to."

That touches me more than anything he's done tonight. "Thank you."

He smiles and nods. "Now let's get ready to sleep, yeah?"

Once I agree, he changes to something more comfortable as do I and we come up to the queen bed that might be a little small for him. Tyki keeps shuffling over and over, trying to accommodate his long legs for such a small mattress. It's almost a bit comical.

Before I let my chuckle betray me, I lift my legs and pull one of his underneath me. "Here," I suggest while pulling the other to lay between my own. It might not be too comfortable for him to have them slightly bent through the night but he makes do, I guess, because he only sighs and kisses my head.

"Thanks."

Holding me closer to him, he embraces me from behind and buries his face against my hair. I've always thought that suffocating but he doesn't seem to mind. Says it's nice to smell my slight scent of herbs and sunshine. So instead of saying anything, I bury myself deeper into his arms and let his being swallow me whole in its comfort.

When I feel sleep trying to gain control over me a split second later, I whisper under my breath, "Good night, Tyki."

"Good night, Reina. See you tomorrow."

And those words alone calm and lull me in a way I never thought possible. They weren't just words, they were a promise. That no matter what came once the sun rose there would be a 'tomorrow.' And come hell or high water, we would be there to face it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song at the beginning is my translation of the 14th's Melody.


	27. Chapter 27

_**Twenty-seven** _

**Eye of the Storm**

* * *

The bright rays of the sun hit my face early in the morning. They penetrate through my eyelids and bother me enough to get me to turn around in bed. A bed that I notice, as I search groggily around for the blanket that is always taken from me while I sleep, is empty. That immediately makes me wake up fully as I sit up, searching for Tyki. Panic sets into me when I can't find him anywhere in the room at first glance. Throwing the blanket off myself, I run through the room and push the door open intent on finding him. Thankfully, I don't have to look far.

Smugly and as if nothing, Tyki sits at the dining table with a cup of coffee and a cigarette between his lips. At seeing him sitting there, I let out a sigh of relief not even knowing that I had held it in the first place. Right now I don't care that I'm barely dressed with only a slightly large shirt and small shorts hidden underneath it. My bare feet slowly guide me to him, wanting to have him near me. He hears my soft steps halfway there and turns to meet my gaze with a small smile of his own.

He blows one last puff of smoke before putting the cigarette off. Tyki reaches out his hand to me as I get within range and I grab it for him to lead me closer. He guides me to stand between his open legs and then holds the small of my back for me to sit down on his lap. Wanting the proximity just as much as he does, I take it and sit down to snuggle onto his chest and bring my legs over both of his to completely sit on him.

"Sleep well?" he asks and hands me the warm cup that had been resting atop the table.

Gently grabbing it between my hands, the warmth soothes the cold from the night without most of the blanket. And when I take a sip, it's almost like standing beside a warm fireplace.

"Mm," is all I can say to answer and a smile comes to my lips at the sugary flavor of the coffee. Tyki doesn't like it with sugar. He likes it black with milk.

_He made this for me._

"I'm not as tired, so I guess that's something," I reply and lay my head against his shoulder as I rest the cup on my lap to warm up. "I am somewhat cold though. It seems having the windows open when I have a blanket hoarder sleeping with me wasn't the best of ideas."

Tyki scoffs and flicks my nose, teasingly. "Shut up. At least I'm not the one talking in my sleep about chicory coffee and beignets."

My head jerks up and I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks as he gives me that shit-eating grin of his. Hiding behind the coffee cup, I pretend to drink it before answering, "Well, if it makes you feel better you made a good coffee, mister. Not as good as chicory but it'll do." Tyki chuckles at that and I take a long drink this time and let the warmth envelope me whole. A sigh escapes me when I turn to face him and notice that he's resting his cheek against his fisted hand that leans against the table while staring at me.

"What?" I ask, confused and lower the coffee from my face.

"Nothing," he says with a smile before coming off his hand to reach towards me to kiss me. It's gentle at first but it changes quickly when his tongue lashes against mine. I feel the hand on my back lowering to play with the hem of my shirt. I'm so distracted by the fervent kiss that he's giving me and by trying to not drop the mildly hot drink on top of us both that I don't really notice his hand roaming up my shirt to my stomach. At first I think he's going to keep going but instead he just splays his hand there on my abdomen and holds me close while gently caressing the scar that was left on me. His callused fingers lightly brush against my skin sending chills through my body. They're so much that I have to hold the cup with one hand and place the other on his chest to tell him to stop it.

At my soft hit, he simply chuckles and finally breaks away just enough to breathe against my lips. "You okay there, lil' queen?"

"Shush," I whisper back and give him a small kiss back before reaching up and kissing his nose. "I thought we agreed we wouldn't until I got better."

"I'm not doing anything wrong, am I?" he asks, sheepishly while still tracing my stomach and then slightly upward between my breasts. "After all, I'm not really touching what I want to."

"And technically, I could also chop your hand off," I say but don't go to move his hand from my stomach as it returns there.

Tyki nuzzles against my throat and his hot breath tickles my skin as he speaks in a low groan, "You'd miss it too much, my queen." His bold comment makes me chuckle as he gently kisses my skin. His hand then rests on my stomach before he stops kissing me. Finding it weird, I can't turn to face him when he lifts his face slightly above my shoulder to gaze over me.

But then I hear the dreadful words he speaks, "Good morning guys."

The heat on my face instantly returns with a fervor and I try to turn around and make sure that he isn't yanking my chain but then it quickly proves unnecessary.

"Seems like you two had a productive night."

I try to pull away but Tyki holds me steadfast to him like the damn anchor that he is and doesn't let me even stand up. Putting the coffee cup on the table, I bury my face into my hands trying to disappear from the embarrassment of someone finding me in such intimacy. It's the only thing I can do now. Tyki, on the other hand, chuckles; if from a finding my struggle funny or something the guys said, I don't know.

"We're just having a good morning is all," Tyki replies and turns against my neck enjoying this way too much. "Aren't we, Reina?"

"Shut up, you oaf," I groan between my teeth, trying really hard not to cuss much more than this. Now I can tell he's doing this on purpose and liking it.

"She's just shy about it," Tyki comments and lifts his head to fully face the bugs who're behind me. "So you see boys, I've won myself a queen of my own."

_That does it._

Prying his hand from me, I finally get up from his lap and have full view of the guys which only brings more to my awkwardness. But instead of running away, I play him in his own game. Pulling on a calm façade that I definitely don't feel being half-dressed in front of others, I simply give Tyki a mischievous grin before cupping his cheek.

"And you know what?" I ask and give him a playful pat on his cheek a bit forcefully. "Since you seem so keen on owning stuff, I'll have you own your bed and leave mine." With that I tread my way back to my room to change for the day.

Halfway across the room, I hear Momo and Clark laughing out before Momo adds in the end. "Damn man, seems like you got conquered instead."

* * *

A few days went by and surprisingly for Reina they were quiet ones. Although she still suffered from night terrors and some mood swings, she was learning quickly that it was better to talk about them instead of trying to bottle them up as she had done before.

The guys understood this and because they now knew for a fact that she and Tyki were together, it was like having protective brothers-in-law. They were caring like always but did tease her from time to time about it; Tyki enjoyed it and so did Reina when it didn't instigate her embarrassment to the max. But she was getting used to the fact that they wouldn't see her the same way as they had before now that they knew about their relationship.

Except Eeze. Despite knowing, the boy still was as cheerful and carefree as he'd been before when Reina was with them. The one thing different was that he was way too happy about it if anything. Almost like he had wanted for them to end up together. Frankly, she wouldn't be surprise if he had.

But Reina could tell from what she could saw of herself and from what the guys told her that she was making progress. Not only were her night terrors less frequent, her appetite was almost back after the month they passed going around towns. She still developed an aversion to some foods that she never wanted to eat again. Because of their work, her activities wouldn't stop and they kept her busy enough to not think about the negative things. Instead they allowed her to focus her mind on the present which was what she wanted to do.

What had happened had happened and there was nothing neither of them could do to change it. As heartbreaking as it still was for them both, she had to get up, wipe herself off, and keep walking. That's the only way anything was going to ever be remotely normal again.

After a month, Reina could tell that she was coping well with carrying the burden of what had happened. Everything had come to an almost unrecognizable fix except for her nightmares and dreams; at times they haunted her and woke her in the middle of the night, while others simply lulled her into a sense of security she only felt with Tyki. They were odd but the things she couldn't recall were that much more ominous because Reina could not, for the life of her, shake off the eerie feeling that clung to them despite being so tranquil.

Putting her dreams aside, Reina couldn't complain anymore about her time with them. If anything, their company had actually been of great help. Tyki had been a man of his word after the little show the first morning and hadn't forced her into doing anything. It made her feel both love and pity for the man. For one she knew that Tyki wasn't one to simply let his urges fester in him; he was the Noah of Pleasure and she knew he was the kind of man that took whatever he wanted when he wanted it. But despite that, he held back. Ever since they were outed, he saw no more need to keep away from her. And not once did Tyki leave her side when they were together. It was the same reason that he used to come sleep in her bed no matter the place they were in and although Reina didn't find it bothersome, she was sure he did. After all, if it were her, she damn sure wouldn't like sleeping with the guy she loved if she couldn't go at him. Then again, that wasn't here nor there. Tyki had his reasons and Reina, well, she still didn't feel okay.

And it wasn't anything physical either. Her pain from the injuries of that night had been gone within the month thanks to Heaven's Touch. But between the phantom pains that haunted her during the day and through her night terrors where she relieved snippets of that night, she hadn't felt up to go all the way. Tyki never asked or doubted her pain, he simply waited. It was painful to see him like that and when she told him about it, he didn't deny it.

"Of course it bothers me a tiny bit," he confessed after much prodding one night when they were getting ready to sleep.

"A bit?" she repeated from where she laid on the bed.

Tyki gave her a peeved look over his shoulder before he took off his shirt for the night and joined her. "Maybe somewhat bothers me. Doesn't matter, anyway. I'm not gonna do nothing you don't want me to, lil' queen."

"And you're okay with waiting?" she asked, turning on her side to face him and inquire directly.

"For you, my queen?" he replied and kissed her deeply before holding her close so that he could lay his head on her chest to sleep. "Absolutely."

That was his answer. Nothing more and nothing less. And his sweet words didn't just end there either. Oh no, they extended far and wide past their nights together. He was sweet among the guys and his snarky yet lovely self at night but one thing was clear. It was like Tyki was making her fall in love all over again. But this time it was that much easier because she knew him on either side of his life.

She knew the kind, human side and the sadistic, Noah side and although she loved aspects of each, Reina knew she loved all that made Tyki Mikk who he was.

Their usual yet strange new routine continued for the next two months when they came off the train for their next job location. This time around they were visiting Athens again in May. Last time they came around the time summer had just started and it made the weather great for being outside…for a little while. But spring was still here and the place seemed much more pleasant than before. The sun wasn't as hot which was going to be good for the guys when they worked but also the good weather would be great for Eeze's lungs.

After getting acclimated to the job, Reina was given a surprised one afternoon after the guys came back from work. Reina had been so busy making supper for them all that when Tyki came in with a basket full of made food, she frowned deeply.

"I thought you said we'd eat at home tonight," she said, peeved. They had all decided on that and so she and Eeze had gone out to buy some good food for dinner. Clearly she didn't appreciate the sudden decision and have nobody tell her about it.

Despite her frustration, Momo and Clark didn't seem phased. In fact, they had some odd grins on their faces that didn't seem perturbed at all about her slight anger.

Tyki was the only one that dared to reply to her. "I didn't lie. They're eating at home."

It took Reina a few seconds to let that information sink into her brain. "They?" At repeating that word, she noticed how that grin of theirs didn't change. Tyki only gave her a small smile of his own before raising the basket for her to see.

"What say you, lil' queen? Care to accompany me out for a bite?"

* * *

Tyki had a strange yet endearing definition of "fancy dinner." After he'd asked and I agreed to go with him, he took me out just as the sun was setting. It was a twenty minute walk out to the clearing beyond the woods, and I've got to say that it's a marvelous sight. He said that he had found it some years ago after coming back from the Noah and wanting some time by himself. We set up the small picnic and ate underneath the bright moonlight. It was lovely with just us eating and chatting away.

By the time we're done, I don't want to leave just yet so I start pointing out the constellations that are so prominent in this world. It's amazing the kind of things that we took for granted in my world. I remember reading that the Milky Way had once been visible to the naked eye before the whole pollution scenario happened. Boy were they right. It's barely eight and we see the stars as bright as they can be.

"And you see that one," I say pointing straight at the three bright stars. Tyki holds me between himself and I simply lay back on his chest as we stargaze. "That's Orion's belt, and if you follow the rest up and down you can see him in his full glory. He was born from Poseidon and an Amazonian queen, inheriting her amazing hunting skills. He proclaimed that he would kill all animal that stood on the earth. Too bad for him that the gods don't really appreciate an ego, which is why Gaia, the earth goddess, sent in a small scorpion that stung him and killed him."

Tyki chuckles as his fingers brush through my hair. "You sure do know a lot, my queen. Learned much in that old life of yours, huh?"

The mention of what I had before sobers me up somewhat but with a small smile, I answer his question. "I suppose. There's not much to talk about though now that I'm not a part of it."

The moment I say this, I hear him cuss under his breath but it's as clear as day. "Reina, I'm—"

"Don't," I say and curl up against his chest and feel his warmth spread across me. It surely helps with the mildly cool night breeze that's going around. "You never apologize. Much less about stupid stuff like this. Don't make it a habit."

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable but I am curious," he insists. His hand stops and draws back from my head. Now that he's not doing anything else, I turn about to sit facing him as he draws a deep breath to ask me again. "What was it like?"

The question is simple but the answer stems into so much that I don't think the answer is as easy. But he's asking with such sincerity that I suck it up and come up with an answer.

"I can't complain, I guess." My gaze turns down to my hands as I start picking beneath my nails. "Besides Noir and what happened to my parents, I had a pretty happy life. I always loved my brothers and my foster parents but—" a chuckle comes out of me as the thought comes to me. "I think that Kat was more special to me than the rest."

"How come?" he asks, raising his hand to run his fingers through my hair again. He's grown fond of doing that now, along with running his fingers lightly across my cheek or neck.

At first I shrug my shoulders but he knows I have a real answer and so do I. "The O'Conners took me in when I young. A few years later, once I got better, mom got pregnant with my little sister. Neither of my parents knew what to name her since they were horrible with girl names. And since my older brothers hadn't had an idea either, I came up with Kathleen's name."

"Why Kathleen?" he asks, with a purse of his lips.

"Liked the name." I turn around to sit on my legs and tell him if he could braid my hair. He doesn't want to at first but agrees when I keep insisting. He's slowly trying to braid it as I continue with my answer. "Besides, I liked it much better than whatever else they were suggesting."

Tyki's hands finish and rest on my shoulders which he squeezes lightly before asking his next question. "And did you…ever think of a name? For our child." That question immediately freezes me over and he just holds me steady. "I shouldn't have asked."

For some reason I start shaking my head vigorously and take his hands off of my shoulders so that I can turn to gaze at his gold eyes. Sitting before him, I grab onto his hands to distract myself as I speak. "It's stupid that I thought of them so early but really, the more time that passed the more I thought of it. I liked 'Nicholas' for a boy."

"And for a girl?" he asks.

I take a deep breath and crawl through my mind for the memory that I wanted to recall. "Charity is one I thought of, too."

"Nicholas would be after your father, right?" he asks to which she only nods. "But why Charity? You're not a woman of coincidences, I know that much."

"When I met with Uncle Donnie and talked with him, he said that my parents had talked about wanting more kids. That after I grew up a little they planned to have another, hoping it would be a girl like me. And said that they would name her _Caridad._ But I like the English word better, so I got Charity."

When I look up, I can't see his eyes because he leans in and captures my lips. The kiss he gives me isn't gentle like they've been before. This one is fervent and passionate and it leaves me breathless. Once he pulls back, he gently places a hand against her cheek.

"I'd like that. A lovely little cherub that looks like you."

That gets a chuckle out of me and I simply hold his hand against me. "I frankly don't mind."

"Oh come on," he says with a mischievous grin. "Wouldn't you prefer one over the other?"

Tyki's making me work hard on this but I only have to think about it for a little bit as I glance over his gorgeous face. "A boy."

He grimaces visibly but in a way it's cute. "How come?"

"I don't know." I teasingly poke at his nose. "The idea of seeing a little cutie that looks like you got me thinking about it."

He chuckles but at meeting my eyes his expression turns sullen. That's when he reaches his hand up to my face and brushes away something from my eyes. The moment I realize they're tears, I brush away at them myself but he stops me. I begin to apologize but he shakes his head slightly before kissing my cheek just below my eyelid.

"Don't apologize for that," he says and holds me close to him. I hold tight not wanting these emotions to drown me again like they had before. "Don't get stuck in the past. Look at tomorrow instead and look for what little hope you can get."

That makes me scoff and I feel some tears springing off from me as well. I wipe at them before replying. "What kind of hope is there, really, when we're at war, Tyki?"

"Sure, you could see it that way," he says with a shrug of his shoulders before brushing my hair from my face before kissing my forehead. "But don't you think that having hope for what little there is in the future is better than nothing?"

Tyki sits back and starts rummaging through his pocket, leaving me confused as ever about what he could be hiding in there. Considering it's him, it could be anything, really. That doesn't really take away the fact that I'm curious about what he has. At seeing this, though, he stops and gives me that shit-eating grin of his.

"You eager?"

I pout knowing he's just teasing me but humor him, nonetheless. "Oh, I don't know. For all I know you have a knife there and are reading to kill me."

"Oh, no knife required for that. But no, my queen, you'll have no such luck tonight," he replies.

"Haha, so will you tell me what you've got there?" I ask, trying to get him to 'fess up.

"I will but first will you close your eyes?"

"Okay, now you're really worrying me," I admit with a chuckle.

"You trust me?" he asks and I don't hesitate to say yes. "Then humor me and close your eyes, Reina."

A grimace comes to my lips but instead of saying anything else I close my eyes and sit straight waiting for him. Behind the dark all I hear is the sound of the night critters and Tyki rustling around his pockets. I feel his calloused fingers take my hand and slightly separate my fingers. The moment that I feel something cold against my ring finger, though, I can't keep my eyes close anymore and they snap open. When I gaze down at the hand that he's holding, my eyes go wide and I can't speak. Right there on the ring finger of my left is a small silver band. It has tiny vines and leaves of opaque gold. The simplicity of it baffles me but what it means does even more.

My eyes come up to meet his and instead of the grin all I see is a smile from him as well as clear cut sincerity in his eyes. Tyki only plays with it while still holding my hand and says, "Cheater."

I need a few seconds to recollect my thoughts that were scattered by this action. There's so many things I want to ask that he has the answers to but instead all that comes out of me is the simplest. "What is this…?"

"Well, I know traditionally I'm to promise you all I am and have but—" he scoffs at the mere thought. "We both know with me being a Noah that I can't possibly give you all there is to me. But believe me when I say, my queen, that I have one thing else to offer you instead. I can promise you the humanity that you managed to reach and nurture, the dark side of myself that you have tamed." He then shrugs as if this wasn't embarrassing for him at all. "And hell, I'll give you as many little cherubs as you want."

That last statement made me laugh my heart out but with that laughter come more tears too at the mere thought of what he was proposing. That he's even _proposing_ to me in his own way. But it makes me happy, nonetheless.

Clearing my eyes and smiling back, I answer him for what it's worth. "Well, in that case, I'll take all and everything and you'll have the same from me, _amor._ "

Tyki smiles and comes up to lift me off from my seat. It startles me so much that I start laughing in the tiny bit of panic that he sets off. But he simply holds me close to him with my feet just inches off the ground. His lips meet mine in a gentle whisper before he lays his forehead against mine.

"I love you, Reina," he whispers but it resonates louder than anything I've ever heard.

" _Eu também te amo_ ," I say and that I do it using his native tongue seems to please him before he goes to kiss me again. At first it's gentle like before but soon he starts to seek more. Wanting it as well, I let him part my lips open and love the feeling of his tongue against mine.

He sets me down on the floor slowly and once I have ground to stand on I feel one of his hands roaming underneath my blouse while the other caresses my thighs beneath my skirt. At first I thought the pain would come like it had any time his hands touched me but instead all I feel is my love for him filling me with warmth and comfort. His touch doesn't hurt me anymore.

It's loving.

It's pleasant.

_And I want more._

So instead of moving his hands away like I've done before when he's done this, I reach my arms over and wrap them around his broad shoulders. Tyki kisses me once before starting a trail from my jaw to my neck, savoring every lick and small bite he gives to it. His voice a bit haughty, he speaks in a whisper, "Are you sure, Reina?"

There's no hesitation like before when I couldn't let go of my pain and let myself be loved like this. I want this. I want _him._

"Show me how much you love me, _meu amor._ Show me…" My words die a mere whisper as his lips scorch against mine. He stops abruptly to bite my bottom lip before burying his face against my neck. It's then that I feel his lips curve into a grin against my skin sending chills down my spine.

"With pleasure, _minha rainha._ "

* * *

Tyki didn't lose a second at Reina's request. Months had gone by and he had watched her slowly flourish out of her pain. And truly she seemed to have blossomed stronger than before. In a way, it had changed him too. He now understood pain like no other he had felt. It wasn't the physical kind but one that seared his soul completely. And yet he felt that with every kiss he gave her supple skin, he felt like he was alive.

_She_ made him feel alive.

And as he undid her blouse and left it to fall slightly off her shoulders, Reina held it up to her breasts for a brief second. "You sure no one will barge in?"

Tyki chuckled at the fact that she still had modesty enough to care about being seen when she was the one who had asked it of him. He brushed his fingers slightly against her shoulders and saw her shiver from the sensation. "I assure you, love, no one comes out this late at night." Leaning in, he brushed his lips slightly against her shoulder before biting down on it. She let out a small 'hey' in protest of such sudden action but he smiled from the reaction, nonetheless. "And if anyone ever sees you like this, you won't have to worry for long. I'll kill any who do."

That made Reina scoff a tiny bit but the laughter all ended when he kissed her deeply to distract her. Meanwhile his hands drew up to hers and drove them away from her blouse to let it to fall around her arms. Undoing the last button, he slid it off her before leaning back to watch the fairness of her skin as the moonlight hit it.

Yeah, he was blessed, all right. Not losing any time, Tyki took one of her taut nipples into his mouth to savor it. Moaning from the sensation, Reina lifted her hands to grab at his head, enticing him forth.

That there was something that Tyki loved about Reina. Despite how bashful she was in public about their affairs, she didn't hold back when it was just the two of them. Reina was herself and it just brought him to love her that much more. Marking her just above her right breast with a small bite, he moved onto the left and let his hands travel down to remove her skirt. This time she didn't complain seeing as she was too busy enjoying his meticulousness when it came to pleasing her.

Once he got her skirt undone and off from her, the only thing between him and the most aching part of her was a thin barrier of cloth. But that really didn't hinder his actions. Reaching down between her bare legs, he was careful enough to stroke her clit lightly. The motion itself though didn't seem enough for Reina as she began to jerk her hips in return. Tyki was glad that after so much she was still easy to arouse. He just loved the way she lost her mind at his touch and it was amazing to hear her voice beginning to raise as her back slowly arched.

Reina, however, wasn't as gone as he had thought and as they kissed once more she played around with the buttons of his shirt trying to undo it. It wasn't until it was open and she was attempting to strip it from him that Tyki grabbed her hands with one of his. Leaning back, he grinned at her lovely appearance: pupils dilated, lips swollen and red from their kisses, and breaths short and ragged. Truly she was a masterpiece. One only he was allowed to let undone.

His grin grew at that thought and he bit her chin playfully as he spoke in a hoarse tone, "Not this time, love. I'll take my sweet time wringing every last bit of pleasure I can from you before I take my own."

Her frowned deepened significantly at that. "Why?"

"You've left me hanging for two months, Reina," Tyki replied and held her close to him, savoring the feeling of her naked body flush to his. "Let me have my fun."

Suddenly his breath hitched when he felt her small hand reaching down to hold him with a finely tight grip. Between her ragged breaths, he heard her small laugh as she ran her fingers in a slow, _torturous_ caress that felt as sweet as she was. "What about my fun?"

"Feisty after so long?" he replied, holding her hand down with his but finding himself unconsciously grinding against them both.

"Firstly, I think you're the one that's feisty." Reina leaned in and Tyki helped her sit up slightly as she placed her lips up against his ear to whisper. "And secondly—" Tyki couldn't help catching his breath when her gentle grip suddenly turned slightly forceful. Not enough to hurt but almost enough to tip him over. "We've been dancing by your beat most of those times. I want to dance to mine for once."

Her dominance play. The one thing he'd never allowed her to win.

_There's always a first time for everything._

"Then let's dance, my queen."

A bright expression came to Reina's face that scared him a little. But it didn't deter him from his answer. Dragging him closer to an oak tree nearby, she sat him down with his back against it. Taking the thin bandanna that she had brought along, she tied his wrists behind his back. All the while she did that Tyki couldn't deny the good view he had of her as she leaned in against him to reach around his back and tie it.

"You do know that I can get out of this if I wanted to, right? Besides, what's the point of doing this?" he asked her as she tightened the thin cloth as tight as she could.

"You'll see," she assured and sat back up. Tyki tugged at his wrists without using his powers to test the knots and sure enough the little girl scout had done a good job.

"Nice job."

"Thanks." Straddling him, she sat fully on his hardened cock and the weight and contact with her warmth only made him groan. "And don't worry. You won't get out of this. Not if you want to dance with me."

"And what might this quirky _pas de deux_ imply, love?" he finally asked.

Reina gave him a grin of her own before she splayed her hands across his bare chest feeling his sinewy body. "It's a very simple game. I can do all and anything that I want to you while you're not allowed to touch me. The one who begs for it loses."

"Now how's that fair when I'm not allowed to touch you?" he asked with a smirk.

"Believe me," she whispered, giving him a lustful look-over. "You don't need to touch me to get me going." She leaned in and kissed him fully, playing roughly with the kiss. Instinctively, Tyki pulled at his hands to hold her but the ties around his wrists tighten instantly. Blowing strings of air against his skin, she began to kiss him as he'd done with her before and Tyki noticed that he was getting stirred by her small ministrations.

Reina didn't spare an inch of his neck as she bit and sucked leaving a trail of marks on it. As she did so, she moved her hands down his chiseled chest to were his pants tightened the most and began her murderous movements.

Tyki gritted his teeth trying hard not to groan in his throat from how sweet her touch was. Even through clothes it felt marvelous. But that he couldn't touch her the same made it that much harder for him to keep himself from thinking about ravaging her.

_I'm starting to hate this already._

A little too late though. He had decided to play along with her little game and she seemed to be enjoying it. But his complaints stopped the moment her hands began undoing his pants and stripping him down to release him. Tyki didn't have time to protest against it when Reina grasped him in her small hand.

"Reina, don't—" he groaned deep in his throat trying hard not to react violently to the long strokes she gave with her hands.

"Why?" she purred with a mischievous glint in her eyes as she continued to stroke him. "Want to give up already?"

Tyki tried to answer but before he could even say one word, he gasped at the purest sensation he'd ever felt as Reina took him into her mouth. Her tongue swiveled around him every time she lifted her head to taste him further. He felt electricity run through him with every long lick she gave. That her mouth could only take the head and that she was compensating with her hand was torture in and of itself. And that he had all this right in front of him in full view was just making it worse. This was the single most loving action he felt and it swelled his heart at the selflessness that it took. It showed that all she wanted was to show him pleasure. And it didn't seem like she wasn't enjoying it either; not when her other hand had disappeared somewhere else between her own legs and her hips were jerking back and forth with her bobbing head.

The scene and sensation were quickly pushing him to the edge. But he didn't want to come yet. Not like this.

_Fuck it._

Phasing through his restraints, Tyki pushed Reina off of himself a little too forcefully and down against the grass. Her eyes widened with shock but she didn't even mind the prickly of the blades of grass when Tyki faced her with the most lustful gaze she'd ever seen from him.

His breath shallow and ragged, he groaned and spoke with a hoarse voice. "You win, my queen." Tyki grabbed her left thigh to push her leg up letting her knee brush against her breast. "Now here's your reward."

With that single warning, Tyki entered Reina fully. Both moaned in unison at the fulfilling sensation. Despite it hurting, Reina couldn't deny that the deepness that he was reaching and how full he felt inside her completely overrode the pain.

Tyki had to really focus on not coming just by taking her after all that damn teasing. But it was hard to when all he felt was her warm wet tightness grasping onto him. And before long he couldn't stay still anymore. His thrusts began shallow and as slow as he could take them knowing she was surely in pain. Reina's only response now seemed to be her deep moans with every thrust that went deeper inside her. Her arms grabbed around until they found his back and started to ravage against it with her nails the deeper he thrusted. Soon, her grasp tightened to a deliciously painful burn. But at that moment, Tyki couldn't wrap around his head how blissful she felt.

"Ty—ki…" she moaned once more between thrusts. She opened her eyes slightly to meet his and the passion he saw in them never ceased to amaze him. "Please, more. Hard—" Tyki didn't let her finish as he kissed her forcefully just as he quickened his pace. Her gasps came in short ragged breaths faster and faster and her nails dug so much onto his back that he finally saw the need to grab her wrists and pull them over her head. Grabbing her hands with his and intertwining their fingers together, her hold on them was like hell.

His pace soon came to be faster than before and Reina couldn't help but scream his name over and over, pleading for sweet release and wrapping her legs around his waist to allow him to go as deep as he could inside her. Tyki felt himself at the verge of coming but wanted something else much more. Sinking his face against her neck, Tyki started to lick and bite at her flush skin before whispering in her ear.

"Reina—come for me, _meu amor._ "

"To—together—" she exclaimed a second before her hold on his hands tightened beyond belief. Her back arched against him, sheathing him deep inside her as she came undone. Her blissful climax was so much that all she could see was white for a few seconds. Tyki let go of her hands and pulled her body flush against his as he came. Reina gasped loudly at the sensation of both Tyki unconsciously biting her neck and him filling her with that delicious warmth that only heightened her own orgasm.

Wasted and satisfied neither could move from each other's arms as they laid in the open prairie under the vast moonlight. Tyki, being the one most awake of the two, pulled the blanket they had used for the picnic over Reina's sated body as she gave off a relieved sigh at the warmth of both him and the blanket. Quicker than she thought possible, Reina dozed off peacefully, her breathing evening out in a few minutes.

Tyki couldn't believe the perfectness of the moment. Both filled with the love they had for each other. Both were satiated and spent from the throes and pleasures that their deep carnal love gave them. And for Tyki this was so much different than simply satisfying a primitive need. That never involved emotions, it was always just sex. But with Reina, no matter how many times, he truly never grew tired of it. If anything, every time it was like she touched something else apart from his body. Call him crazy, but he was sure that she managed to touch his rotten soul.

_One that's already marked for sacrifice._

At the morbid reminder, Tyki couldn't keep himself from scowling. For once in his life, he hated the fact that he was a Noah. Despite loving the thrill of the kill and being able to wrack havoc on humanity, he knew like all the others that he was just a lamb awaiting his turn for the slaughter. Road had said so herself long ago, they were the Earl's precious lambs. The ones he would offer to God. Tyki wouldn't deny that he enjoyed his dual life but having met Reina changed that duality. Even after meeting both sides, she became accepting of them despite being an Innocence bearer. The very thing that he swore to destroy from the face of this meager earth. That had been the most stunning thing to ever happen to him after becoming a Noah.

Tyki had come to terms with that destiny in time. It no longer bothered him so long as he could keep creating mayhem and have his life always free of boredom. Nothing but death would ever change that one fact. And yet Reina somehow crept her way into him and now held the very two things he thought he had lost long ago: his humanity and his heart. She found both and had nurtured them with her loving, tender hands and caustically feisty charisma. And once he had realized the love he had for her, Tyki felt another emotion creep into him.

The fear of losing her. One that had proven devastating the moment he did lose her to Apocryphos' attack. It was the kind of desolation he had never felt before. It had marked him so deep that he still had nightmares about it. It was the one thing that he couldn't keep from fearing. His body could last the beatings and fights from hell, but that would never be enough to kill him. Not when his heart rested with her.

And Tyki knew now more than ever that if anything or anybody ever hurt her again, he would truly relish in murdering whoever dared wound his _coração_. So long as Joyd remained buried and he went on being Tyki Mikk, he would protect her.

And whenever Joyd did surface, well…

_There won't be any beating around the bush. I'll have to make her swear on everything she finds sacred to be what she was chosen to be._

_An Exorcist._

Not wanting to dwell on that prosperous future, Tyki carefully laid Reina down on the grass partially covered by the blanket so that he could change. Taking care to put everything away including her clothes, he covered her well with the blanket as she slept through. He somehow managed to carry a sleeping Reina and the basket together and made his way back to their home as quickly as he could. Luckily it was so late that no one was really out in the open, so getting back wasn't a huge problem.

Once inside, he quickly went to the room they shared before gently laying her down on the bed to sleep. Reina tossed lightly and turned wrapping the blanket around herself more. Tyki quickly stripped himself to sleep more comfortably and joined her in bed.

Right now all he wanted was to be with Reina because he knew that this respite wouldn't last.

The war would wage on and sooner or later he would no longer be the Tyki she loved. He would only be Joyd, the scapegoat to the Earl. And soon, he would have to ground her on that reality. And he would make her promise to run as far as she could to—to _them,_ the Exorcists. Despite him knowing what could possibly happen as the war raged, he at least had some hope that they would be able to keep her safe somehow.

_They'll have to._

So for tonight Tyki took what he could get and he wrapped his arms around Reina's sleeping form to hold her as close to him as he could. And all because Tyki had the horrendous premonition that once Joyd returned, Tyki Mikk wouldn't come back. His mind and body would belong to the memories of the Noah of Pleasure, but at least he knew that his heart would be safeguarded.

* * *

The next few days were much more calm and easy going for me. Somewhat being able to talk and being so open with Tyki since the picnic is very liberating. Although, I'll have to admit that the little ring around my finger had upped my mood more than enough too. It was amazing just to be doing anything and feel the steel on my finger. It brings me a calm I never thought possible and it just swells my heart like never before. To say it helped me would be an understatement.

Now a few days past, we moved on to our next home. Because spring is at its peak, there seems to be much more work for them and they seem to be coming home just a tad bit later. But it's not as bad for them since they get home to a fairly cool home near the woods.

But today when Eeze and I barely come back, the guys are already home. That's not what's surprising though. The fact that they're all dressed with their better clothes and waiting at the dinner table is. Eeze bounds to them happy that they got out so early. Momo and Clark tell Eeze that they did their fair amount of work for it but don't explain their attire.

"What's this about?" I ask once I'm a tiny bit over it and walk up to them.

"We're going out," Tyki answers. "All of us."

"What for?" Eeze asks as he comes skipping up to Tyki. Holding him up and on his arm to sit, Tyki simply grins at him.

"You'll see."

I try to ask something else again but then I'm stopped when Momo and Clark grab me by the shoulders to push me towards my room. "Now, lil' queen. You've got to get ready too."

"Then Eeze—"

"We'll get the bucko ready," Clark says. "Just go get yourself all prettied up and we'll wait out, 'kay?" Even though he asks, he still leaves me no room to answer when he just pushes me inside and closes the door after me. I can't help but stare after them but try humoring them for once and go get ready. Because I didn't really think about what I was packing before, I don't have any good dresses. So instead I only put on the nicest dark blue skirt I have along with a shirt blouse and a brown coat. My boots and stockings look fine with it so I leave them and simply put my hair to the side and pin it with a hairclip in place.

Once done, I come out to find them all waiting for me at the dining table. Even though I keep insisting for them to tell me what's going on, they keep blowing me off and it's starting to piss off. It's when we're already standing in front of a small tavern that they finally start losing their bluffing demeanor.

Tired of their pushing me around, I cross my arms before my chest and frown at them. "Care to tell me what's going on now?" Momo and Clark come up to the door but before they even let me go in they ask me to cover my eyes. "I'm losing my patience fast here. Not in the mood for blindfolds."

"Here, I'll cover your eyes, Rei-nee," Eeze offers and tells me to bend over. Rolling my eyes slightly but not being able to tell him no, I grab him and hold him up against me. He's gotten heavier since I last did this and noticing this, Tyki helps me hold him in place.

"All right, bucko, but you better do it right," I jest and let him cover my eyes with his hands. "Don't let me trip now, 'kay?"

He giggles at that but his hands don't come off my face. "I won't, Rei-nee."

I hear the guys open the door and while Eeze has my eyes covered, Tyki guides us inside of the tavern. Now that we're inside, the guys tell Eeze to let go of me and when he does all I see is a burst of people that jump and exclaim at the same time.

"Congratulations!"

The people I recognize from our days here, not just from this past week but from months before, come out with congratulations. The tables are filled with a feast for our group in the tavern and it seems that there aren't any other customers either. I'm so confused and caught unawares that I'm left speechless for a minute.

It's gone by then and that's when I turn to Tyki and can't help but ask. "Am I missing something?"

"Apparently, you and I are on the same boat, love," he says with a chuckle.

"It's a party for you two!" Momo and Clark exclaim before taking Eeze from my arms. When my confusion seems as plain as if it were on my face, they get this wholesome look on their faces and continue. "And engagement party, doofuses."

_Engagement party…?_

That catches me more by surprise than anything else. "A what?"

"It's not like we didn't notice the little ring on your finger," Clark mentions giving my left hand a nod with his chin.

"And it's not like we didn't help our man Tyki pick it out either," Momo cajoles, swinging his arm over Tyki's shoulders.

The guys that work at the mine come close and to my amazement I recognize them all. If not by name, I do by face and each one of them come up to us and laud us for the engagement. I can't believe that they all decided to come. I can't even fathom how they all remembered Tyki, much less me when I haven't been around for more than two years. But the people from here continue to bewilder me with their caring nature. So different yet refreshing.

And because of it, I don't mind the trouble they all went through for such a thing as an engagement party. Despite winning as much as the guys do, perhaps less, I'm told by some that they all pitched in a little bit of something to make it happen. They'd known Tyki for a while and wanted to praise the 'girly' that had finally gotten the tie on him. And to quote one of them, 'After all the other ones, we wanted to see what little tigress had gotten this one.'

That caught my attention, all right.

"'After all the others,' huh," I repeat to him as we sit down once everybody starts eating.

"Oh, you going to bust me on that, are ya?" he says with a scoff.

"Not at all," I say before taking a sip of my cider. "Just wondering how many 'others' there were?"

"Necessary?" he asks.

"Not really, but I'm curious." So I turn to Momo and Clark and with my sweetest smile, I ask them instead. "Did Tyki really have lots of other women?"

They burst out laughing while Tyki simply grabs at my thigh since we're sitting next to each other. But I push it aside and simply await my answer.

"Oh lil' queen," Momo says with one last laugh. "You'd be surprised."

"It's not tough to see that he 'preciates you much more than any of those others, though" Clark adds.

That certainly peaks my interest. "Really?"

The two of them nod but it's Clark who continues the conversation. "Our little man here has had his lady friends as have we but never have we ever truly stuck to one. They've been a passing whim, to say the least."

"Not you, though," Momo says with a swig of his beer. "You're not only the queen of our little family but you're also the little girl who took him by surprise. Never seen him any more lovesick, 'ave we. And that little ring around your finger should be more than enough proof of that."

That one sentence makes me scoff out of reflex. "Where I come from, marriages crumble like houses of cards," I say without really thinking and shut myself up the instant I realize what I said. From the corner of my eyes I see Tyki giving me a look behind his glasses.

"Well, sad as that is, it ain't here, now is it?" Momo says, lifting his cup.

"Here, life's short and we got to enjoy it. And if we find someone then we better be damn sure that's who we want to spend our lives with," Clark adds and passes Tyki another cup of beer. "Ain't that right, Tyki?"

"Truer words never spoken, my friend," he agrees with a grin. His hand, beneath the table, reaches out to hold my hand that lays on my laps. He squeezes it tightly and I can't help but smile at that. Whatever his past with others may be, I'm sure it's not half as bad as the one with the Noah so I let it go and instead toast with them all.

The hours of the evening go by faster than I think possible. After everyone eats, there's a huge dance and prance about the tavern as the waitresses join in after hours. The workers and friends of the guys join in immediately at seeing them. I'm glad to join after a while and dance with some of them until Tyki takes me to dance with him. Despite that though, I take my special man by the hand and dance with Eeze most of the night. It's by the time that eleven hits that Eeze turns in, exhausted. The party continues with the drinking while I sit with Eeze snoozing off on my lap.

Tyki comes from his little corner to us and bends down to speak in my ear over the noise. "You guys all right?"

I nod and simply continue to brush my hand through his hair, lulling him further out. "We might go home now, though. It's getting late for him and despite how much fun it's been I'm tired as well."

"Want me to walk you guys home?"

I shake my head at his offer and instead give him a smile. "You guys are having fun. More than you've had in a while. We'll go by ourselves. It's not that far anyway."

"Reina—"

My nose scrunches at his chastising me. "Don't 'Reina' me, Tyki. I'm a big girl. We'll be fine."

He sighs but somehow that tells me I've won. He agrees and helps me wake up Eeze enough to get him walking. I tell him to thank everyone for me before I kiss him and Eeze and I head back home. He's groggy and is walking slightly wobbly but he's keeping himself together.

"The party ended?" he asks, rubbing his eyes as we walk past the beach.

I chuckle at his comment. "You kind of knocked out there, Eeze. For me that means the party's over for you, buddy." He gives me an 'aw' and seems to be fully awake now. When he notices that we're walking on the street near the seashore he pulls at my sleeve asking if we can go collect seashells. "You were sleeping ten minutes ago, Eeze."

"But I'm awake now," he argues. "Can we?"

He gives me those puppy eyes that I hate to love but they get me to agree with his plea. So we quickly take our shoes off before walking down the sand. He goes off running and picking up pieces of shells not finding a whole one. Using my skirt as a makeshift caddy, I go walking after him as he runs off and back again. The waves lick up at shore and cool my feet from the exhaustion of dancing for so long. As Eeze goes off I watch as the waves bring along a slightly big conch. Bending down to pick it up, I inspect it and notice it's not as battered as the ones he's found. Surely, he'll like this one.

"Eeze, look at this—" but as I turn up I don't find him around like I expect to. Instead it seems like I'm the only one in the beach. I yell out his name but get no answer again. When I do so a second time and it's the same as before, my blood starts to run cold.

_Where did he go off to?_

But that's quickly answered when I hear his scream echoing that runs down my spine like lightning hitting me. Dropping everything, I turn to the jetty surrounded by large rocks that hides all behind it from view. Not wasting as much as a second after I hear him scream a second time, I run as fast as I can through the molding sand.

When I hear his voice screaming a third time, I lose my cool and start yelling his name out at the top of my lungs. Turning at the jetty and almost slipping, I barely catch myself when Eeze comes crashing into me at full speed.

" _Amor,_ are you all right?" I say trying to see on his face if he's hurt anywhere. But all I see is pure terror as he turns to look back from where he just came. I follow his line of sight and my blood runs cold at seeing the Level 3 Akuma.

"Mm?" it speaks at noticing us. "Little morsel has an appetizer too? How lovely." It runs its tongue over its lips and smacks them before rushing at us. Finding in myself enough adrenaline, I drag Eeze and run as fast as we can. We run through the sand but I hear the Akuma as it attacks the sand with what I can only assume are beams of energy. The sand bursts arounds us and I can hear Eeze screaming about it but I try hard not to lose my grip on him. But when one hits too close, it explodes right between us making me lose my hold on his tiny hand.

It sends me flying out and I land face down as I eat sand. But when I look up, what I see makes my blood run cold. Everything seems to run slower when I see the Akum heading for Eeze. All at once my fright turns to complete rage as it drives me to get up and act.

And my first instinct is the one that I know will guarantee me Eeze's safety.

_Heaven's Touch, please!_

The bubble immediately forms without the need to even throw a sphere as it surrounds Eeze and stops the attack of the Akuma in its tracks. Stupefied at what just happened, it turns my way and its eyes bulge out at what he must be surely feeling from me.

"Well, would you look at this," he coos and grabs at the sphere before making it sink deeper into the sand. The forceful hit makes me cringe at feeling it through my body. "An Exorcist."

"Your fight's with me, freak," I tell him and summon my shield on one arm and a sphere in the other. "So come get me."

It licks its lips for a moment before it charges at me. Not skipping a beat, I raise my shield just in time to block his attack. Distracted, he tries to sweep my feet from under me but I'm much faster and throw my sphere at his arm. It lodges deep inside before I give it the order to expand, making his whole shoulder burst out to rip his arm from his body. It starts reaching for me again and manages to grab me by my leg before throwing me out into the sea. I land a few good feet in the water but when I surface I can feel the pain from the Akum hitting at my spheres.

Swimming as fast as I can to shore, I get there and throw another sphere that lodges and expands on his left leg. It buckles underneath its weight and falls onto the sand. I run to Eeze and phase inside the sphere despite how heavy I feel with wet clothes. There's no helping it when I start looking him over but the fear in his eyes quickly takes over me when he looks over my shoulder. I turn just in time to feel the heavy punch the Akuma gives my sphere that feels somewhat heavier than the ones before.

"You cunt ass Exorcist!" it yells and keeps punching at me.

"Rei-nee!" Eeze cries burying his face into my chest before the next hit lands.

"It's all right, Eeze," I say holding onto him but feel the air leave my lungs at another hit. If this keeps going, it'll break soon.

_I need to finish this off now._

Not wasting a second, I get another sphere and aim it right at its head but it misses when it tilts sideways. It cackles and gives another hit, "Won't be falling for the same trick three times, bitch."

_But I'm going to need something sharper than a glass sphere._

I see the sphere as it reaches its peak velocity and see it begin to fall. At the moment of my last thought, I see the sphere begin to morph in midair. And call me crazy but as it comes down, it starts getting sharper. And because he was too preoccupied hitting us, this asshole isn't looking above him. A grin spreads across my lips as the shard of glass finally reaches down impaling him at full velocity. The ground shakes at the force it hits with and the Akuma lays dying before exploding. The sphere holds despite the point blank explosion. The large shard that had shaped itself from the sphere explodes into particles of Innocence that seem to absorb the poison, purifying the air. That it does that amazes me but it drains me a lot which makes the sphere around us disappear.

"Rei-nee, is it—safe?" he says with very shallow breathing.

"Yes, _amor,"_ I tell him and try to calm him down. "Take deep breaths, Eeze."

But I don't think he can when we both hear more footsteps coming towards us from the same jetty. At looking at its direction, my breath catches at seeing the small hoard that was hiding there more than likely off into the nearby woods. By a quick headcount, I can tell there's maybe twenty.

_Way more than I can deal with by myself._

Heaven's Touch is a sustenance Innocence; I need an attacker, someone to fight and deal damage. I can't make it by myself here. And running as Eeze is now, with his asthma kicking in to the max, I can't hope to get us away far enough.

_I have to do something._

But what?

"Just like we thought," one says as they all approach us. "The little Exorcist is here."

"Let's kill her and the small human and get it over with," another says.

That just panics Eeze more and it shows when his breathing becomes heavier and he starts coughing. I hold him closer to me and glare daggers at the Akuma before willing another sphere around me. All too soon though I notice how brittle it is when I see cracks already on it.

_I'm spent this fast? How's that even possible?_

But I don't have any time to contemplate on the reason before the Akuma start rushing at us. There is no point in arguing with myself anymore. I'll have to hold until I see an opening to run. I'll have to risk it.

_We don't have a choice._

But just as the first Akuma draws back to hit at my sphere, they all stop in their tracks as if time suddenly stopped around them. They stop for a second before they start to look very anxious. They start to plead to someone but instead many from the back explode out of nowhere. The rest quickly follow letting my shield up to take the blow. Once the breeze takes all the poison away from us, I can see not one has been left but I don't trust it to be safe yet.

That's until I feel a touch on the glass of the sphere. I'm petrified on the spot and can't seem to move until I hear his voice.

"It's all right, now. They're gone."

"Are they?" I ask not willing to risk Eeze.

"Yes," Tyki answers. "But I can't reach you if you won't dispel the shield, Reina."

When he says that I let out the breath I hadn't known I'd held which lets the brittle sphere fall like a crumbling sandcastle. Once it does Tyki kneels downs to hold me close to him for a brief moment before prying Eeze away from my arms.

"He's wheezing," he points out and that makes me react more than anything.

"He's having an asthma attack," I tell him after hearing him clearly. Now that my head is a little more leveled, I place my hand on his chest and feel for where his discomfort is most. Finding it, I will Heaven's Touch to clear his airway and find myself breathing very shallowly.

"Reina?"

"I'm—fine," I say between breaths. I'll suffer the symptoms for now. My lungs can take it, his won't. Once I've cleared out most of it, I take my hand away and hand him to Tyki. "We need—to take him home."

"Both of you." He takes Eeze easily in one arm and grabs my hand in the other to drag me behind him back home. Because of how hard it is to breath with the asthma attack I took from Eeze, I have to tell him to slow down a few times but we eventually get home. The guys seem to be deep asleep in their room so we take Eeze to my room for more privacy.

Now that I've had time to rest for a little bit, I go and examine Eeze for one last time. Thank god that he fainted or else we'd have so many questions to answer. Tyki however doesn't waste any time on that front. He summons Tease to his hand and brings him closer to Eeze's head. Dreading what he's doing, I stop him in his tracks.

"What are you doing?"

"We can't have him asking questions now, can we?" he tells me, with a matter of a fact tone. I'm about to contest but I know that he's right. "I'll erase the little piece of memories he has about tonight. He'll think that what happened was a dream, at most."

I can't bring myself to accept it but I let him do it nonetheless and turn away as he does it. When he's done, though, I check Eeze over once last time to make sure everything's in order. Once I assure myself he's okay, I turn to Tyki and can't help but ask him what was on my mind.

"How did you find us?"

"The Akuma are loud about their whereabouts," he comments as he lays back on his chair near the bed as I sit on it next to Eeze. "I tend to hide myself when I'm with them so that I don't have to deal with any nearby Akuma. But this time I heard them talking about the crystal bubble Exorcist from the North American branch."

"They gave us away," I conclude at hearing the clear description of Heaven's Touch.

"It wasn't hard finding you after that."

The Akuma exploding made a whole lot more sense now. "You ordered them to self-destruct."

He clicks his tongue and his anger is palpable. "They deserve that and more for attacking you and Eeze." Tyki turns to me and his gaze softens in the span of a second. He reaches up to me and rubs at my cheek with his thumb making it sting and making me grimace. "You all right?"

"I guess I just got scratched," I say, touching my cheek where his fingers are. My hands roam down to my soaked clothes, "And drenched." My humor flees me when my eyes land on Eeze and I bring my hand up to brush my fingers through his hair. "I think I heard the Akuma say something that implied they'd been looking for me."

"All Akuma are on high alert for any Exorcist or prey that they can find," Tyki tells me with an ease that I don't feel. "Ever since the attack on the North American branch, it's been like that. They must've sensed Heaven's Touch and gone after you. After all, it's presence isn't hard to dismiss."

"What do you mean?" I ask, perplexed.

"Before when I first met you, you felt like a normal human," he explains. "Now that you're somewhat trained, your Innocence harbors more of an essence. Kind of like a scent for the hounds. And because you're a parasitic-type, you can't very well conceal it like I've seen others do."

"So you're saying…" my hands tighten on his tresses lightly and I can't help but grimace. "They attacked us because of me?"

"It was bound to happen sooner or later, really," he says trying to relief me of my obvious guilt, but failing miserably. "Didn't think it'd be this fast, though."

And now Eeze and the rest were in danger because of me. I never thought being an Exorcist would mean that I'd have a target on my back. And here I foolishly thought that having Tyki meant I was clear of their pursuit. But now that I knew this, one thing was clearest to me more than ever.

_I'm a danger to him._

"I can't put Eeze through this again," I say under my breath.

"Don't worry," Tyki assures me. "After tonight, I won't leave you unwatched. If I keep the Akuma under check they won't attack you ever again."

"Can you really assure me that even when it could be other Noah who are pulling the strings?" I ask and he grimaces at my question. Not only at my double meaning but also at the fact that I certainly pinpointed a flaw in his solution. My eyes come back to Eeze and as I look at his sleeping face, I know I can't bring myself to put him in anymore danger. "No, Tyki. Even with his memories gone or you following me everywhere, it won't change the fact that I'm a target to the Akuma. I'm a target to your family." A grin comes to my lips and I think I've gone cynical for a second. "And you know what? I've made peace with that. They hate me and I can't say the feeling isn't mutual with some. But that's a problem that I have to deal with myself and I won't let Eeze or anyone else suffer because of it."

At finishing that, I take a deep breath and muster all the courage I can to say my next words.

"We need to leave."

"What?"

His shock and confusion isn't surprising, especially since I'm telling him to take me back to such a dreadful place. But when I turn to face him, I grab his hand with my other free one and let him see that I mean it. "I don't want to lose Eeze because of some stupid mistake. We've been through that hardship before…and I've learned my lesson. Better we fight this on our own terms that let it catch us unawares like it did tonight and we risk losing him."

My words seem to sink into him and I can see that after a few seconds he gets what I'm saying. Tyki nods before taking my hand and brings it up to kiss my open palm. The action itself is sweet and brings a warmth to my heart that I can't describe. It calms me and at the same times fills me with resolution over my decision.

"We'll go tomorrow morning then," he says to me with a defeated sigh.

But one look at Eeze and his state and I know that this can't wait. I shake my head at Tyki. Giving Eeze a last kiss on the forehead and imbuing in him what little help I can give him with Heaven's Touch, I stand up bringing Tyki along with me.

"No Tyki," I say and embrace him to get what strength I need to say my next sentence. "We have to leave…tonight."


	28. Chapter 28

_**Twenty-eight** _

**Second Chance**

* * *

There's no point in faking what I couldn't possibly hide. For sure disgust is etched on my face, and to my knowledge and my stomach's proclamations it's in the rest of my body. Coming back to the Noah after two short months is beginning to take a toll on me and we aren't even there yet.

It has been only about two days since we left the guys and Eeze behind. Tyki wrote them a note explaining our sudden departure whilst I packed. All the while I did that, there was this sick feeling in my gut that I couldn't shake off. When I looked at Eeze's sleeping face, it just cemented itself further, like I had swallowed a lead ball that I couldn't pass. That's when I recognized that feeling for what it was: fear.

I feared for his life. For my own. But most of all I feared that I would never see him again. It was stupid to think that because as soon as Tyki and I were out of the house there would be no more danger stalking at their threshold. But even so, I couldn't shake off the thought that haunted me. So I did what I thought best and left a quick note for him to find when he woke up.

It was an assurance that we would be all right. And for him to take care of himself and the others. The more I thought about it as I read it, the more I saw it as a goodbye letter. And in a way I guess that's exactly what it was.

But we had to leave, no matter how painful it was for both of us. For his sake, it had to be done. So we up and left and took the earliest train up north. According to Tyki, the Kamelot's move around a lot during seasons to different houses to keep up with the nobility and its endless celebrations. And during spring they spent it mostly up north were the social gatherings continue their courses.

After half a day of travelling due north, we finally get in a carriage to take us to the Kamelot's manor. As I look up at Tyki who sits beside me, I'm glad we had a few hours to get dress before going back. Certainly _someone_ would have had an aneurysm if we arrived dressed like we do with the guys.

As luck would have it, it's raining outside and it just makes my mood that much more glum.

_Yes, sky. It sucks. At least you're not the one walking back into that snake pit._

The hand on top of mine gives it a little squeeze and makes me face up to Tyki who only smiles bleakly. Oh yes, he's just as happy to go back as I am.

"Don't fret," he says quietly. "Whatever happens I won't leave your side."

Despite the acerbic sarcasm that threatens to spill from my lips, I opt out for the milder version with a small smile of my own. "I may be the family's pet, Tyki, but we both know that you're the one really on a leash." His hold tightens a bit too much and I wince from it, simply putting my other hand on top of his to comfort him. "The thought's appreciated, though."

"I'll put them in their place if they dare touch you."

"And I'll drive the nail through the stake you hang them on, sweetie," I add giving his hand a little pat. "But now's not the time to worry about my fickle emotions. Right now, we have to focus on being able to live in that house without you killing anybody related to you, blood or otherwise."

"Your mighty calm about this," he mentions. His eyes glance over me out the window of the carriage and I take a long breath to prepare for what's surely outside.

"Not calm," I answer and follow his line of sight. Sure enough, there it stands in all its exuberant deadliness: The Kamelot manor. "Just saving my energy for when I actually need it."

_And it'll surely be soon._

Once we're driven to the front of the manor, the coachman comes to the door and opens it with one hand while holding an umbrella for us with the other.

"Lord Mikk," he calls while Tyki steps down.

He turns back to me and reaches to help me down with his hand, too. I take it and when we're down he takes the umbrella from the coachman before dismissing him. As we're walking up to the front, we walk arm in arm trying to keep together. It's actually for my benefit, seeing as I'm already coming into this with shaky feet. Tyki stops briefly at the entrance to glance down one last time at me.

"Ready for this?" he asks lightly.

"As ready as I'll ever be to walk into the pig's slaughter, sure."

Tyki cracks a grin at that but it quickly fades when he opens the door and we walk in. The minute we do we're swarmed by a couple of maids that had been walking by as we entered. They fluster over our unexpected arrival; I guess we weren't really to come back here unless Tyki had been ordered to. But Tyki quickly dismisses them and has them take our luggage up to his room. They oblige and for a minute we're left alone in a quietness that seems too overbearing for such a macabre place.

"Is it just me or is this place too silent for your brother?" I ask in a hush so low only he can hear me as we walk up the stairs. Tyki's intent to take me to the room and lock me in. And seeing as I'm not too fond of the place or it's people either, I'd say ditto.

"It's been like this for a while, actually," he tells me as we climb the stairs to the second floor. "Ever since Road, he hasn't been fully in his right mind."

"What do you mean?"

"Sheril's—" Tyki pauses, looking for the right word. " _Unstable_ right now. As to what I've been told, he hasn't joined in social gatherings much. Or his political meetings. To say he's distraught would be an understatement."

"Could he be busy with orders from the Earl?" I ask as we walk down the hallway towards the room.

Tyki shakes his head slightly at that. "The Earl's been out of his senses, too. He's either manic or simply sulking in the Ark. You could say those are his default settings, yes, but he hasn't really spoken to any of us directly about what he plans to do next."

That is awfully obvious when I get to think about it.

"Road was the only Noah that survived the war thirty-five years ago," I say, thinking out loud as I stare at my heels while walking. "In this time of extreme stress, it'd be natural that she'd be the one he would confide in. A confidant, really, and with her gone—" Tyki stops abruptly, ending my sentence. Before I can ask him or even finish, another voice interrupts and it sends chills down my spine.

"He won't be talking to anyone anytime soon."

I draw closer to Tyki as we both stare back at Wisely who stands a few feet in front of us. Like Tyki, he's decked out in fancy attire but by the way he's standing it doesn't seem to suit him well. But what I'm more focused on is the fact that his hair is brown instead of white and the three eyes that were on his forehead are no longer there. Perhaps like Tyki and the rest he's hiding his Noah form with this human façade.

Wisely gives me a smile that's as hollow as he is merciless. "It's precisely that, Miss Teresa."

"Precisely what?" I ask through gritted teeth.

"I am hiding just like dear ol' uncle here is," Wisely directs his smile at Tyki. "Ain't that right?"

"You don't speak like that here," Tyki reminds him.

"I know," he replies with a snicker. "But I can't help it. It's much more fun to be disruptive and coarse. At least that gets on Sheril's nerves enough to bring a whole lot more entertainment in this house."

Seeing as hiding my displeasure around Wisely is futile, I speak my mind and don't hide my emotions. "You've been messing around in the manor and pissing off Sheril?" I scoff and turn away, "What a prodigious son you turned out to be. Oh wait, that's right. You're adopted."

"As are you, Teresa. As are you." He walks closer to us at that and completely ignores Tyki to glance down at me. Not missing a beat, I glare right back at him hating that I even have to look up. "But that matters not because with you here, Sheril will have much more to torture than just an old man and the boy."

Tyki acts on instinct and shoves him off from us before replying to his threat. "I'll say this to you and to the others, you touch her and family or not I'll rip you to shreds." The fury in his voice frightens me because of how similar it sounded to Joyd's incoherent babble. It wasn't the words; it was the voice with which he spoke them with. Wanting him to stop, I pull lightly at his arm for him to stop and draw closer to him. Unconsciously, he places his hand on my own and I feel as he slightly moves the ring on my finger.

Wisely never wavers from his glance. When I end up looking his way, I catch the glint of something in his eyes that scares me. It's gone before I even realize it and in its stead is the fakest smile I've ever seen.

"Very well, uncle," he answers. "I'll be sure to pass the message along to the rest of the family." With that last word, he continues his walk past us.

"Oh."

_Just. Leave. Already._

"By the way…" Tyki and I turn to face him as Wisely looks over his shoulder at us. The smile he gives us sends chills down my spine but they pale in comparison to what his words do. "Congratulations." And with that he continues walking down the hall not caring a bit that he just literally made my heart stop. Once he's out of earshot, I can't help but hiss at Tyki.

"You think he figured it out?"

Tyki sneers and undid my tight grip from around his arm. Looking down, I note the obvious creases that I made from how hard I was holding onto him. "Even if he did, it won't give him any merit to rat us out. The kid's ridiculous but he's not that petty. Come on," he ushers me again towards the way Wisely had come from. "We should go and rest for a bit."

Not having the fortitude to argue, I follow him to our room. We thankfully have some time to rest like we hoped. No one bothers us even when dinner time comes and we find ourselves going to the dining hall for it. Despite what Tyki may think, it's only a few people that bother me in this whole house. None of the rest living here are much a hassle to deal with so I convince him to go.

Gratefully, there's almost no one joining us except for Tricia who holds a rather bleak expression hidden behind a small smile as she greets us. She begins to stand from her sit but Tyki and I both assure her it's all right as we all take our sits along the largely vacant table. With either one of them sitting at my sides, it's much easier to talk to Tricia and see what has her so distraught.

"Everything all right?" I ask as dinner is brought in.

She smiles but I can tell she's about to lie through her teeth. "Just fine, darling."

Not wanting to be rude, I scoot my chair more towards her side not caring the awful noise I'm making with the chair's legs against the tile floor. Once I'm in place, I put on an innocent face before asking again.

"You said to me some time ago that if I ever needed someone to talk to that I could come to you," I say and lay my hand on her arm. "Well, I'm here for you too, Tricia. And I can tell something's bothering you."

Tricia sighs and smiles before replying, "It's been rather lonesome in the house, lately."

"How come?"

"It's been this way ever since Sheril sent Road to boarding school in the west," she says with a heavy sigh. "Wisely has been a dear to spend time with but it's not the same without my Road."

"Oh." Boarding school. Must've been the lie he told her. Then again why even bother telling her anything so convoluted if…he didn't care about how Tricia felt. Kicking that thought out of my head, I rub her arm gently. "It'll be all right, Trish. I'm here now, as well. We can spend some time together and you can talk my ear off with all your worries."

"Oh dear," she chuckles and gently brushes at her eyes trying to hide the small tears that remain unshed. "I would like that very much." Nodding at her agreement, I go back to my place and we eat peacefully with little bits of chatter here and there. When we're done, the three of us head to the East wing of the manor to deliver Tricia to her room for the night. Tyki follows behind us as Tricia and I talk on about how I've been.

It's when she brings up one tactful matter that I begin to shrink slightly into myself.

"How is your child, by the way?" she asks. "It's been five months already. Surely there must be signs of it already."

Although it strikes me somewhat hard, I manage to keep myself together and instead give her a small smile. "I actually suffered a miscarriage, Trish. I'm not having a baby anymore."

She stops abruptly and gasps, shocked. It doesn't last long before she holds me in her arms. The embrace lasts for a full minute but I take in every stride of and hold her to me. I imagine if Mama had lived, she'd be a lot like Tricia. She pulls me to arm's length and starts looking me over, as if she expects to find some kind of visible injury on me.

"Darling, are you all right?"

There's nothing for me to do except look at her in the eye and smile grimly before shrugging my shoulders. "It happened. We've gotten through it. Nothing else to say about it." She hugs me once more before she grabs me by the hand and we walk the rest of the way to her room like that. Tyki doesn't say anything either until we get to Tricia's room.

She let's go of me and watches as Tyki instantly grabs my hand. I don't mind it since it's what he always does but Tricia seems to have this moment of lucidity before smiling. She opens the door to her room but before going in, she turns to us, more precisely to Tyki as she comes to stand before him.

"I have known you for a long time," she says with her usual gentleness. She reaches up with her hand and places it on his cheek like a loving mother. "So I don't think I have to remind you to be good to this young lady if your intention is to keep her."

I glance briefly Tyki's way and see him give Tricia a smirk. "I know, Trish. And believe me, it is."

"Good." She pats his shoulder before coming to me and brushing a strand of hair back from my face. The mere gesture is nothing new but the fact that it's her doing it with such loving expression on her face makes me tear up a bit. I thought I wouldn't let out anything until I hear myself sob. She strokes the back of my head and kisses me on the cheek before letting go. "Our little Reina deserves that and more." With that she bids us both goodnight before going inside the room. It takes me a few seconds to get my together but once I do, we're on our way back to our room for bed.

To my displeasure, we happen upon Sheril coming up for the night as well and I can't hide my annoyance. Luckily, he doesn't even look at me and instead faces Tyki with the most serious look I've seen from him.

"Wonderful that you're back," he says. A scowl comes to his features as he comes to glance down at me. "Sad to see you brought the mutt back with you."

"What do you want, Sheril?" he asks through gritted teeth.

"Just wanted to welcome you back home, little brother." Sheril walks up to Tyki and gives him one single piece of paper. Taking it, he doesn't even bother reading it and instead glares at him without a word. Sheril doesn't seemed perturbed by the sneer he's given. "And personally give you your next assignment. Just in case you had the foolish idea of blowing off your duties in this house." He gives us both that manic grin and walks past us, headed for his and Tricia's room.

The fact that a Noah like him is willing to join Tricia in the same bedroom tells me a great deal about some things that I had suspected. But I still wonder what has compelled him to be as he is with her. He doesn't find pleasure it in; he hates humans just as much as any of the other Noah. In fact, he's one that derives much more contentment from torturing them. And yet he goes back to Tricia. If to keep a façade up or not, it's still unclear to me. Yet the one thing that boggles against that clear cut answer is exactly what Tricia told me before.

"Why did you lie to Tricia?"

My voice rings out through the hall and although not loud enough to be considered a shout, Sheril hears it loud enough to stop in his tracks and turn.

The nasty glare he gives me nor what he says deters me from my question. He sighs as if trying to calm his anger before talking to Tyki. "What is it talking about?"

"Reina, don't." But I pull away from Tyki's grab when he tries to draw me away so we could go.

Instead I stand my ground and ask him clearly what I mean. "You could've told her any lie you wanted to. You could've said she'd ran away, that she didn't want to be here, anything. And yet you decide to soften the blow; you, Sheril the sick fuck that finds pleasure in hurting others. Why tell Tricia that you sent Road away to school? Why even spare her?"

The moment I mention Road's name a lividness starts in his eyes. It actually makes me step back and it's enough for Tyki to step around me and place some distance between Sheril and I. Sheril growls deep in his throat as he answers, "Don't play coy with me, little human. I don't care what you are to my brother but to me you are a burden that should be exterminated."

"Likewise, you're not the favorite in my books but you have Tricia. And according to what I've come to know of you, you wouldn't think twice about hurting anybody." As I'm saying this, I come from behind Tyki to fully face Sheril. "But I've seen the Noah be kind. I've seen them be thoughtful. Most of all, I've seen them feel. The twins love each other, Lulubell holds the Earl's esteem in her highest regards, and Road's love for her whole family." My head turns to look over my shoulder at Tyki before I continue. "Even Tyki's love for me. Despite how much the Earl wants for you to become mindless Noah like you have to be, you hold on to your humanity as bleak and merciless as it may be. It's there."

This time I turn to fully face him and instead of glaring or frowning, I remain aloof. "And I'm starting to notice that perhaps you, too, have some things that show your humanity."

_Perhaps Tricia won't be as in much danger as I thought she would be._

But I don't say that last thought. It isn't because I'm afraid of what he might do to me but because of what he might do to Tricia to prove me wrong. Silence fills the hall until Sheril scoffs.

"What nonsense." He turns and quickly leaves without giving me another word.

The breath I was holding comes out the instant I see him leave from out sight. Tyki comes forth while calling me numerous names that amount to my stupidity. I don't mind. I had to clear my doubts about what could be lying beneath all this senseless murder.

The Earl's plan to cleanse the world from humanity. The fight of the Exorcists to stop them. God in the middle of this all, both proclaiming to be His messengers. Somehow it's coming a little into focus now that I know one thing for sure.

All the players in this game are human at their core. They feel, they dream, they hope, they aspire. And what matters to me is that they wish to live.

_They're all human._

And I can't let them be disposed of like trash. They're not expendable. None of them are.

_I was sent as the foreteller. I, alone, know what is to come. That means I can change it._

Forget those stupid pithed points in the timeline. I was driven here for a purpose and I'll fulfill it. I'll do my damn best to stop it from happening, no matter the costs.

* * *

The next few days pass completely uneventful to both our surprises. Unfortunately, Tyki can't simply blow off his duties now that he's here and they tend to keep him away most of the day until late night. I've come to spend most of my time with Tricia wanting some distraction of my own.

During the early mornings like today when I tend to wake up from dreams that leave me hazy, I keep thinking around in my head about what I plan to do with my mission as a foreteller.

According to what Nea, Cross, and Hevlaska once told me all possible paths are open to me because I know the overall outcomes of the pithed points in the timeline. According to Hevlaska though those can't be changed. Then again my being here itself has changed a lot of things already. If I can change more and save more lives, then maybe it'll be worth it.

_Can you save the lives that matter though?_

That's the question of the century, really. One thing that keeps bugging me as I think out different outcomes is the one thing that Hevlaska said to me, the same saying that Papa said to me once.

"Just because I can, doesn't mean I should."

That put into question much of what I wanted to do. By saving the people I care about and those who don't deserve to die, would I just be condemning others, perhaps the whole world, to a much worse fate? If I tried to save those innocents, would I be risking the ones I love? So many variables and just as many outcomes swirled in my head making it hurt. Truthfully, it isn't making this any easier.

_Why was I even brought here in the first place if I can't save them?_

The dilemma doesn't leave me. But instead of letting it consume me any further I decide to go out for a while. Donning a red skirt over a long-sleeve blouse and coat, I go out to the gardens expecting them to be empty. Tricia's health enables her from coming out this early when it's this cold and since the rest of the servants don't really come here this early, I'm left to myself.

My walk takes me out before the gorgeous flower beds that Tricia had implemented recently and they bring color to this bleak place. As my eyes go off towards the horizon beyond this manor and towards the fields beyond, I catch the glimpse of a nearby wheat field that sways with the breeze and shines with the golden rays of sun.

As the light bounces off, it blinds me slightly and makes me cover my eyes with my hand. But as I do that and I hear the birds singing, the scenario changes. Almost like a brought on hallucination that's looks neither real nor fake, I see glimpses of a large field of golden wheat that's as vast as my eyes can see. I'm standing in an isle of green and flowers among the sea of gold that seems to engulf me as its waves sway against the warm wind. The view feels familiar but hazy, like something I've seen in my dreams.

And as if I were in one, I start hearing _her_ voice as she sings.

" _And the little boy now falls into his deepest sleep_  
Deeply breathing the gray ashes among shinning flames  
First comes one, then another…"

When I turn around to where I hear her voice, all I see a few feet in front of me is her back as she stands beside an old leafless tree. At trying to make out her face as she slightly looks over her shoulder, I'm hit by the rays of the sunset and I can't make it out. She turns back to the sunset and continues singing in her melodic voice.

" _So many faces emerging of our beloved one_  
And thousands fall, trickling upon this earth  
Sweet dreams you keep dreaming—"

I can't see her face but her voice sounds so familiar. Not only her voice but also the song itself. It's the same one that I keep hearing in my dreams, the one that keeps alluding me. My dreams leave me with nothing but the murmurs of that song and her voice. They haunt me in my sleep and now they even haunt me while I'm awake.

But none of that really matters because all I want to know is who she is.

"Who—"

"Sista!"

Everything shatters and all at once I'm brought back to the back garden and can't shake myself from the daydream I just had. The only thing that grounds me to reality is the touch of four arms wrapping themselves around my waist, hauling weight on me.

Looking down, I see two sweet faces that I haven't seen in the longest time.

"Jasdero? Devit?" I whisper unable to distinguish if I'm still daydreaming or not.

"Hee," Jasdero squeaks as usual but his appearance is completely off from what I remember since last I saw them. "Long time no see, pretty sista."

"How you doing?" Devit asks and brushes his long bangs away from his face. He neither looks like he used to.

"I'm…fine." Blinking myself out of my stupor, I try to pry them off of me before giving myself some space to really look at them carefully. Like I suspected, they aren't the same as they were before. Jasdero sports much longer blonde hair and his mouth isn't sewn shut like it had been before. Devit's hair is slightly longer as well reaching to his chin and a little past his shoulders, messily combed. Neither are wearing any make-up like they've done before and although they're not wearing conventional sophisticated clothes, they're not wearing their usual punk attire either. It's almost like a mix between the two but more true to their punk side. "You two look well."

"Yep," Jasdero sways from side to side making his hair sway too. Gosh, it's so long that it's to his waist. As he does this, I notice that he has his hands behind his back as if hiding them.

"Haven't had time to visit ya, Sista," Devit says with a grin while he too hides his arms beneath long sleeves and buries his hands in his pockets. "We want to have some playtime with you."

"Doing what?" I ask.

"We like exploring Sheril's mansions," Devit explains.

"They always have secret stuff here and there," Jasdero adds. Before I know they start pulling at either of my arms, trying to coax me to come along with them. But the more I see how messed up their hair is, the more bothered I get.

"Fine, I'll go with." They start to cheer but before they get too into it, I pull my hands away from their grasp. "But before that, you have to let me put your hair up." They give me a scowl each as if perturbed by the idea but I'm not giving up easily. "It'll ruin your hair to have it down like that all the time."

"Dero's hair?" Jasdero grasped at the long strands of his gold hair and gasps in terror.

Devit only glances doubtfully at his brother and then at me. "What's yer plan for it, sista?"

My hands come together and I tap my fingers against each other while thinking on my feet. The moment I see the bed of marigolds, poppies, and all other assortments of flowers, I grin to myself and turn to them. "You'll see."

Coaxing them to sit down, I start with Devit. He fights me somewhat but sits still as I kneel behind him and start braiding his hair against his scalp to form a crown around his head. When I'm half way done on one side, I tell Jasdero to go pick me some of the flowers he likes. He goes without a thought and goes bouncing around happily.

"Yer starting to scare me, sista." Devit jerks away slightly when I pull a little too hard on his hair when I put the pins in to keep it in place.

"It's okay." Careful to be more gentle, I put another pin to secure the two thin braids that go around his head at the back. "I'm almost done. You'll be lovely."

He sighs and his body physical deflates. "That's what I'm scared of."

Jasdero is quick to bring the flowers I asked of him and drops them beside me before kneeling and watching what I do with them. Picking little buds and small flowers, I start putting each across the braids to give his dark hair some color. When I put the last white poppy on, I let out a sigh of satisfaction.

"There," I turn to Jasdero and smile as I say this. "Doesn't he look marvelous."

"Devit looks pretty!" Jasdero exclaims and chuckles. Devit starts huffing but when he tries reaching to undo my hard work I slap teasingly at his hand.

"Ouch."

"Don't touch them. You'll ruin it."

"Are you going to do that to Dero too?" Jasdero points meekly at himself but I can tell that he's actually looking forward to it. When I nod, he rushes to scoot his brother over to change places with him making me laugh. Telling Devit to go pick some flowers for Jasdero, he sighs defeated and goes without reproach. Meanwhile I'm braiding his long blond hair, Jasdero keeps trying to persuade me into different ways to style it. Frankly, I already had something in mind. Braiding it in five strands, it takes me awhile but just enough to have Devit return with his share of buds. Once I'm done, I start using my imagination to spread the decorative flowers around his hair which takes much less.

"There," I say, brushing a strand behind his ear to make it good. "All done." Standing up Jasdero jumps to his brother's side and having the two stand side to side with one giddy and the other flustered only makes me smile. Devit looks pretty charming despite his young age with the way his is styled while Jasdero reminds me too much of Rapunzel. "You guys are adorable."

"Who're you calling adorable?" Devit barks out but doesn't stop blushing which only proves my point further.

"Dero's adorable, really?" There's not much I can do but nod at Jasdero's question. He starts buzzing over Devit telling him that they look awesome if 'their sista' tells them. Devit can't really bring himself to argue with him and instead clears his throat to save some of his dignity.

"Anyway," he says loudly. "Now that you're done, can we go exploring?"

Having forgotten about that, I think about it for a minute before nodding. I didn't have much to do today after all and I didn't really feel like having breakfast. Enthusiastic like before and the braids and flowers completely forgotten, they drag me along in a fast trot through corridors and rooms that I hadn't seen before in the Kamelot manor. Through it all, we hide from servants and maids and anyone else roaming the manor itself through the servant pathways that I had no idea existed. As we run past Sheril's office as quiet as mice scurrying about, I'm starting to get tired from so much running around. But it's somewhat strange since I have such good stamina.

I want to plead for a break but they disappear around a corner and as I try catching up to them, I trip and start falling. Luckily a candelabra on the wall is close enough for me to grab and hang on to keep my balance. But my weight seems to break it a bit as it bends down to the side. Letting go, I watch as the wall opens slightly like a door.

_A secret passage? How Scooby-Do-ish._

Peeking through the tiny crack, I can't see anything but darkness and there seems to be no noise either. It's freaky and right down scary but something in me wants to urge me down the passage. The thought quickly dies out though when I hear Jasdero and Devit calling for me again. Quickly closing the door and pushing the candelabra back in place, I trot after them so that they won't find what I just did.

It'll stay my secret for now. I want to come see what's on the other side when I have time of my own. But that'll be for later.

The rest of the morning, I spend it joshing around with the twins and I've got to say that it was quite tiring. They leave in the afternoon saying that they had some work from the Earl to do. I don't keep them and after they leave I spend some time with Tricia again before wanting to retire to rest until dinner comes. As I'm heading to our room, though, I notice that I'm not really tired in the sense that I need sleep. I'm more physically exhausted than anything. Talking wouldn't really help because I had to keep up a bit of a farce among Tricia's friends that came to visit at times. The moment I pass the entrance to the library, I step back and stare at it for a second.

_Hanging around here until seven wouldn't be too bad, actually._

Having decided on that, I push the door open and enter one of the grand libraries that the Kamelot family had scattered through their seasonal houses. According to what Tricia told me, Sheril kept the largest reserve of books in this one because he had so much work with politics. She hadn't been lying either. The place truly is a replica of the library in Beauty and the Beast. Maybe to a smaller scale but still impressive.

This would surely keep me occupied till dinner. Walking around the isles of books is truly an adventure in and of itself as I quickly find all sorts of titles that I'd like to read. Having four under my arm for now and later, I walk up to an armchair that's not far from an unlit fireplace. But as I put down my books on it, I notice that I'm not alone.

Wisely gives me this grin that I wish I could just punch right through. He waves his hand and peeks over the large tome that he was reading. "Hello." Ignoring him out of choice, I start grabbing my books intent on leaving to read somewhere else but his words stop me for some reason.

"Did I make you uncomfortable?"

_Yeah, dicklette. I can't stand your nosy ass._

He chuckles and I regret not thinking about my… _thoughts_ ahead of time. He crosses his legs underneath him and snuggles against the chair he's on. "Love your vocabulary. I've got to say I haven't heard such flowery accentuation since Sheril found out I brought Gamako along with me."

The one word reaches my curiosity and I can't help but ask. "Who's Gamako?"

Wisely picks under his coat and pulls out a slimy frog. "My pet frog." He grins but lets out an 'oh' when the frog slips from his hands and onto the floor. It jumps a few feet towards the fireplace but before it can jump in, I jog quickly to it and put my foot up to stop him mid-jump. It croaks before slipping from my shoe and onto its back on the floor.

"That's kind of gross," I mumble and crouch down to poke at it. The only time I've seen a frog was in high school biology. Then again it was dead.

"It won't bite," he assures me.

A huff comes out of me and simply grab the frog by its back legs. It's starts squirming in my grasp and it grosses me out more but before I let it go, I toss it at Wisely who catches it expertly.

"Take care of it," I simply say and start again for my books.

"These books are all old." His comment stops me and I instinctively glance down to read over the titles. Sure, they're old compared to my time but in this time—

I frown at him as he places Gamako on his shoulder. Weirdly enough, the frog stays put. Shaking my head, I tell him what his words had brought on me. "They're not old to you."

"Surely to you who comes not just from a future timeline but from an alternate one has much more appreciation for newer literature," he says not looking at me. Instead he thumbs to the next page as he continues to read his book. After he does, though, he brings the heel of his hand and presses it against his temple for a brief second before coming to read again.

_Odd._

Not wanting to think and have him scope out my thoughts, I just say whatever I'm thinking. "I appreciate old classics. Or _new_ classics, I suppose." Not wanting to argue on the jargon, I shake the thought out of my head.

"Fantasy isn't much of a classic genre, though."

"It has its moments," I counter.

"Sure they do. But if you want a change of pace, I think you'd appreciate Samuel Richardson." Wisely bends down and from underneath his chair pulls out a decently thick book before standing out of the chair. He walks over to the table before the fireplace and places it there before turning to me. "Don't want to disturb what little peace my family gives you, Miss Teresa. I may be awful at times but there are others were peace is all I want, too." He taps the bound book twice with his fingers and smiles. "Happy reading."

Not giving another word, he leaves with his book in hand and doesn't turn back. Curious about what he gave me, I walk up to the table and turn the pages of the book until I find the title.

_Clarissa._

Don't think I've ever read this one. There's a war between wanting to read it and just letting sleeping dogs lie but at the end of the day, I wake them. Taking the book in my hand, I move the books from my chair and open to the first page.

* * *

Imprisonment. Innocence broken over and over again. Trust and love twisted by greed and jealousy. Wow. Wisely hadn't been wrong. This book is good.

The past week I have done nothing much out of ordinary besides burying my nose in this book. Tyki has been out most of the days only to return at night. He's often tired but finds enough energy to play with me and it's lovely. But I tend to remind him that even he needs his rest and surely after a few hours to ourselves he complies and sleeps. After he does, I hardly follow right away; I'm not really a fan of sleeping much anymore.

My dreams are filled with nothing but fields of gold, a mysterious woman, and a beautiful song I do not know. So instead I spend the late hours reading until I can't help it anymore and fall asleep. Tyki reprimands me much about that but I brush it aside and keep doing it.

The mornings when I'm awake I spend with Tricia and the twins when they're home. The house has been filled with much too many people that Sheril brings in so I haven't had the chance to go back to my little passage yet. And even though it irks me, I can't do much but wait at this point. The afternoons tend to tire me now for some reason but not to the point that I want to sleep. Instead I take my book and go to the library. And like the first day that I went, Wisely is there reading…and massaging his temple.

_He's the Noah with the Demon Eye. He's prone to headaches and migraines._

A part of me tinges with pity every time I see him do that. But it doesn't last long because as soon as he sees me enter the room, he stands up and leaves. The third day that he tries doing this though, I get tired of the special treatment and instead stop him when he tries standing up.

Wisely looks at me confused and I can't blame him. I'm a bit confused myself with my actions. But regardless of that, something tells me that he's not as bad as he first appeared. Sure, he had abled Sheril torturing me but that was in the past. And like Tyki, the twins, and Road before him, I see something in him that I failed to when I first met him. The one thing that takes most of my energy to see and usually a lot of patience.

_His humanity._

"Is there something you wanted?" he asks when I hold onto his arm for too long.

I let go but clear my throat to get his attention again. "You don't have to leave every time I come here."

His brow furrows at the unexpected remark. "Thought you despised my presence."

My throat tightens a bit at that statement that would have been true had he said it a couple of months back.

_But that's in the past now._

"You don't truly believe that," he replies to my thought.

Shaking my head, I start fidgeting with my fingers. "I've learned that with your family some patience is required to know you. Not as the Noah you became but as the human you still are."

He scoffs at that and crosses his arms over his chest. "What would make you think that I'm still remotely human?"

"The fact that you keep leaving every time I come."

Wisely smiles at that and gives me a glance that I construe as the sincerest I've seen from him. To my surprise, though, he asks me something completely unrelated. "That ring you're wearing—Joyd gave you that?"

My fingers come to twist the silver band on my ring finger out of necessity but I don't back down from answering. "Tyki. And yes, he gave it to me."

"A proposal?"

"That's our business." Despite what little empathy I may have for him, I still don't trust him to not use this if I confirm it for him. So I don't. "Why the question?"

He shakes his head and his eyes come to the book that's still tucked between my arm and chest. "How're you liking it?"

My eyes follow his line of sight and I smile, unconsciously. "It's really good albeit sad what Clarissa's going through."

"Yes," he agrees. "Hers truly is a story of stolen trust and forced adulthood. Very reminiscent of your life if you put it in perspective."

"I thought so too the more I read it." I cradle the book to my chest more and feel the heaviness the story itself carved in me. "You gave me this knowing that, didn't you?"

"I thought you'd appreciate the irony, if anything," he replies with a shrug of his shoulders.

A frown comes to me and a bit of anger boils in my stomach. "Irony? You think I'd like this because of how sadistic it is and how much it reminds me of my life?"

"I thought you'd appreciate that, unlike Clarissa and her collision course, you had another chance." That one sentence makes my ire fade and it makes me feel foolish for jumping on the gun like that. He grins, though, and doesn't seem perturbed by what he's surely hearing in my head. "No need to feel bad. I assure you, I've spent my life being hated for things I can't help. Yours is just another that won't matter soon."

"How nihilistic," I remark.

"Living out homeless by yourself teaches you many things. One of which is to not care what those around you think of you. It's like that saying, sticks and stones and whatnot."

I can't help but grimace. "Sticks and stones hurt just as much as words."

_I should know. Having been tagged a hostile psycho as a kid._

"Not really," he counters. "They can't hurt me if I don't give them the power to."

"That's very smart of someone your age," I say after a few seconds.

He sighs and takes a sit on the chair. Not wanting to be left standing, I take the seat that's right across from it. "Much like Clarissa, I, too, was forced to grow-up fast."

_Just like me._

"That's still unfair," I say, putting the book on my lap. "What's put us in our positions is something we couldn't control." My fingers start to curl and tighten around the book's hardcover and I can see my knuckles turning white. "No one could've."

"Seems life has a distinct plan to see us suffer, Miss Teresa." He chuckles and runs his hand through his messy hair. At doing this, he winces before pressing the heel of his hand just above his eye socket.

"Your head's hurting?" I ask.

"Nasty byproduct of my powers, regrettably." He sighs and rubs at it before glancing at me. Despite the smile that he gives me, I can still see the grimace from the pain. I wonder how much pain he's actually in? Wisely chuckles and I curse at myself for thinking…again. "It hurts plenty. Thankfully, they're not as bad as they used to be now that I can freely use my powers. They're a nuisance at best and at worst, pardon the pun, a headache."

As he tells me this, I can't help but start thinking about something from my time with the O'Conners. Mother also got terrible headaches because of stress from work but hated taking pills. She liked her mother's home remedies better.

_And if I remember correctly, what she took for headaches was…_

Not wasting anytime, I shoot up from my sit and face him with a grin. "Stay put. I'll be right back." Before he can even ask me anything, I run out of the library and head straight for the kitchen. Not putting any attention to the cooks and maids, I quickly grab a cup and some ingredients. As quick as I can I make the chamomile tea with honey that Mother used to make. I'm done in ten minutes' tops and jog as fast as I can back to the library without dropping the tea. Pushing the doors open, I set the tray down on the table closest to him. Wisely sits up and eyes the cup of tea eerily.

"What's that?"

I motion my hand to it with a grin. "Chamomile tea with honey." Taking the cup, I push it into his hands. "Drink it. It'll help with your headaches."

He gives it and myself another look before sighing and taking a deep drink of it. At putting the cup down, he sighs in relief. For some reason his relief gives me some comfort. It seems to have helped.

"It tastes good." I just smile at his compliment and stay silent until he finishes the cup. He puts it aside and doesn't give any sign of emotion. Instead he sits there impatiently glancing back and forth between me and the cup. "You didn't have to."

A smile comes to my lips and I can't help the giddiness that I'm feeling. "You gave me a gift—" I gesture at the cup sitting between us at the table. "I just reciprocated."

"Tit-for-tat?"

I shake my head. "Take it as a friendly truce."

Wisely gives me a very perplexed look then. "Truce? Why, Miss Teresa, could you perhaps be scared of me?"

"Perhaps." But the fact that I'm grinning doesn't give off the tone of my declaration. "But you're all not so bad once I get to know you. Jasdevi, Road, and Tyki were like that. And from what I can tell—" I grab the cup from the table and turn to the door. "You're not all bad, either."

Holding the cup in both my hands, I hear clamoring behind me while I make my way to the door. "You forgot your book, Miss Teresa."

When I glance over my shoulder, I see Wisely standing next to my armchair with _Clarissa_ in his hands. I give him a smile before I reply. "I'm done with it. Maybe you could give me something else like it tomorrow when I come read with you."

He couldn't have been more shocked had I slapped him. But it's a brief second of that before he gives me a lop-sided grin that shows how young he truly is. "I'll have one ready, then. But I've got one last remark."

"And that is?"

"You are still an idiot for being with the Noah." The grin doesn't go away from his face as he finishes. "But I can see what they all like you—that special thing about you."

"Nothing special," I say, waving at him dismissively as I head for the door once more, "Just doing what I want."

Wisely scoffs but lets it be at that. "Goodnight, Miss Reina."

"Goodnight to you too, Wisely."

* * *

There's nothing but a vast field of golden wheat the moment I open my eyes. A sigh escapes me as I instantly recognize the dreamscape I'm in again. This has to be the eighth time I've been here. And that I remember it clearly every time I come in here is saying something.

If I remember correctly I fell asleep waiting up for Tyki. He's always gotten back after I fall asleep. And even though I vaguely remember waking up when he got home, I was sucked back to my dreams like nothing. Almost as if an anchor was weighing me down back to…wherever here is.

A sigh of frustration runs out of my lips as I walk down the wheat field, my fingertips hovering out of range to barely brush against the stalks. My feet bare, I feel every tiny grain of dirt as it comes between my toes and scrapes the soles of my feet. It doesn't hurt, though. The whole scenery before me is actually rather calming.

But as I reach the dark tree planted amidst the vast sea of gold, my calm turns to uneasiness. And like all the dreams before this, the woman is there again standing against it and with her back towards me. Her elegant dress sways a bit against the warm breeze. It moves around me and sweeps my hair back. When I look up, I see the woman as she turns over her shoulder but I can't see her face.

"You know," I finally say with a click of my tongue. "If you wanted to be all cryptic and stuff, having me solve a Rubik's cube would've been much more effective."

It's when I hear her dainty laughter ring through the air towards me that I completely freeze. This has never happened before. She's always singing. Never once did she answer or react to any of my comments, caustic or otherwise.

_This is different._

Feeling my anxiety and trepidation rising, I walk closer to her at a slow pace. Every time I've tried getting near her, I've always woken up from my dreams with her song ringing in my ears. But tonight as I slowly creep up on her, nothing changes. The wheat still sways and slowly but surely I see the lines of her face become more defined.

The instant I see her face I can't help but gasp in surprise and stupefaction.

"Mama…?"

Her small lips form into a warm smile and her dark eyes do the same, giving me a warmth and sense of security I've never seen before in one gesture. Her dark wavy hair hangs around her shoulders, loose, with only some gathered behind her head to keep it from her face. Skin a porcelain akin to that of a doll's and her face that of an angel's.

And I've seen this face before. It's the one of the woman that held me in the picture I have—the only picture—of my biological parents.

_But that's not possible._

Once logic starts working through my brain, I start to realize the little differences between her and my mother. A terrible sadness and melancholy I never thought possible rushes through me like an avalanche but I hide it behind a small smile.

"No, you're not my mother." As I step closer to her, she doesn't seem bothered by my presence. "But you've been bothering me a lot these past few nights. Would you mind explaining me why?"

The woman shrinks into her shoulders like a child but her demeanor tells me that she doesn't intend to back down or run. That she's going to be willing to answer me is a different matter, though. But as I'm about to ask again, she opens her mouth and speaks in a voice that I've learned to expect to hear singing in my dreams.

"It may be because your dreams have been so vivid, child." She walks the few steps to stand in front of me and that's when I notice that she's only a few inches taller than and perhaps not that much older, either. "They've drawn me here. Or perhaps the more correct answer would be that they have made me a little livelier."

Her words confuse me more than anything. "That doesn't answer the 'who?'"

"Would you believe me were I to answer that question?"

"Depends on who you say you are," I stretch my arms over my head feeling the strain on my muscles. "But then again this is a dream. Not like it'll matter since once I'm awake I'll forget I even spoke to you."

"You've dreamt about this place before?" she asks incredulous.

"For more than a week now. Just this place and your lullaby." I give her a sheepish look then when the next compliment comes out of me. "It's a nice song, by the way."

"It's a song I sing for my sons. At least I did when they were babies."

"Sons?" I ask. "You have children?"

A dishearten gleam comes to her eyes despite her smile. She turns to me and nods before she glances over to the east, away from the setting sun. "They are gone now, grown. And I've been here in our home since waiting to see if they will ever return."

"They left you, huh?" I say and come up to stand beside her. "It's kind of what happens with children. You have them, raise them, and when they're all grown-up they go their own way. The bird flying from the nest thing and all that mumbo-jumbo."

She gives me a quirky grin. "You seem to be very knowledgeable about such things, it seems."

That she points that out brings my hype somewhat down at remembering what I no longer have. This is when I simply shrug, trying to drive those bad emotions away from my head. "A girl thinks about the future a lot when they're going to be a mother themselves. But it's not like there's much to think about now that it's gone, really."

"How so?"

"Lost my child." The words still stick to my throat like they use to before but at least now I can say them without emotions overwhelming me.

Unlike what others have done when I told them this, this woman doesn't tell me apologies. There are no forced sentiments or pity. Instead she nods and holds her hands to her bosom. "Losing someone you love so deeply is truly a hell in of itself."

Somehow, her words sound too heartfelt to be just wise words. "You've lost someone too?"

She gives me a slight nod before turning back to the tree. "He and I met under this tree on a day much like this one. Our time was short but very worthwhile. He was kind albeit somewhat strange. Most of all, he reminded me too much of myself: lonely even among the world."

When I turn to look at the tree a flash runs across my eyes like lightning. At first I think I'm hallucinating but the image was too crisp and clear to not be real. All I see in the millisecond I have is the face of a dark-skinned man with long wavy hair who is dressed peculiarly. An outfit I could've sworn I've seen before but it's gone before I can even verify or deny any theories my mind concocts.

Rubbing at my eyes, I face her again and see her sullen expression. "And one day, out of the blue, he vanished and I never heard from him again."

The heart wrenching tone I hear in her voice is enough to let me know she must have truly loved him. But then another thought arises with that one. "Your sons…?"

Her hands lower to lay before her but she's holding to each so tightly that her knuckles start turning white. "I raised them after he disappeared. They were the only good thing that he left behind."

My heart ached for her loss and for the troubles she went through. But the anguish leaves her face faster than I can think of as she turns to me with a wry smile before she chuckles. "But I don't think you came here to talk about my boring life."

Not wanting to poke more at her injuries, I humor her. "Guess not." I nod with my chin towards the direction she had mentioned before this depressing topic came up. "You said your house was this way?"

She nods and, to my surprise, grabs my hand in hers before she starts pulling me towards it. "How about you have a look?" She walks at a fast pace and since she's much faster than I am, I find myself jogging after her. It takes a good ten minutes to get to the place and once we do my eyes grow wide at the huge mansion that stands amidst this golden sea.

_Hidden._

"This is it," she says, still holding onto my hand. "The Campbell Mansion."

_Campbell?_

The name rings in me as I finally recognize from where I've seen her face before. When I turn to glance at her again, she holds this meek demeanor as if she figured that I finally remembered her.

The only Campbell family that I know of in this world is one.

_Then that means…_

"You're Katerina."

Katerina only smiles shyly and releases my hand. "I knew you would remember."

"Remember?" I repeat, confused. "I've never met you. I'm not even from this world; that's the only reason I know your name and your family." That reminds me of something else as well. "Specially your sons, Mana and Nea."

Her smile falters for a bit but doesn't go away. Instead, she nods as if understanding what I meant. "I don't know much about what's happened. Even as I am now, I'm unaware of many of my memories."

"How? Aren't you just a figment of my dreams?" The look she gives me tells me everything I need to know. "You're real…"

"In some sense of the word, I am." Katerina steps forth towards the mansion but as soon as she does an invisible barrier blocks her path. She lifts her hand and presses it against the barrier and it ripples like heavy water against her touch. "I am but a piece of Katerina Campbell's soul. One that survived after Katerina suffered such great attack in the real world."

"But then why are you in my dreams?" I ask not understanding that part. "Why aren't you in Allen's or Nea's? Or even Mana's for that matter?"

Her hand curls inward on itself and against the barrier making it ripple. "I don't belong with them. My soul has no connection with theirs any more than they do in mine. It's the only reason why this little piece of me survived with the little memories I have left."

I'm tired of her tiptoeing around my question so I ask her straight out instead. "Why is your soul attached to me, Katerina?"

She turns to me and gives me a wry smile. "You and I are more alike than I thought possible, child. But then again, fate seldom works randomly. No coincidences exist in the world much less in the lives of people. You and I are connected somehow and it's that connection that anchored a little piece of myself to you. But that is as much as I can conclude with my limited knowledge."

"Fate." My voice couldn't have sounded more acerbic had I tried. "Don't give me that crap. Fate doesn't exist."

"Perhaps you and I are at odds then," she turns and starts walking toward me. A part of me tells me to run and try to wake up but something else pleads me to stay. It's practically yelling at me to stay. And it's so overwhelming that I can't move from my place. She comes to stand before me and I can see the exhaustion and grief that are clearly etched on her face. "But regardless of what we might believe, I know that it just is. But what little part of my soul is with you now won't be for much longer."

"What do you mean?"

"I only had enough strength left in me to appear in your dreams and even then I could tell it was a weak beacon for you." Reaching up with her hands, she cups my face and the warmth from them almost makes me forget that's she not really here. "But because of your boundless hope and the power you have to see so much good in all others despite their actions, you've given me enough strength to give you this last message." Katerina's smile fades slightly to show a part of her I've never seen. It's feral and determined, like a mother's love. "Find this place where my sons—where my Nea and Mana lived. Here you can gain the power and wisdom to protect all, if only you dare to see the world and its people not for what they are but for what they could be."

Just then everything around us starts to crumble, turning into golden dust. As the scenery leaves, her body starts to shimmer as it too starts to disappear. Out of desperation, I hold onto her hands and hold them against me as hard as I can. "Don't go."

Katerina smiles then and comes forth to place a chaste kiss on my forehead. "Don't be afraid, child. You have those who love and who will protect you. You are never alone. And for all you have done to safe those who've needed you, I think you have earned what you have given to so many already—"

Everything suddenly quiets around me as if someone just unplugged the noise from my brain. At first all I hear is my heart beat as it resonates in my eardrums but then tears well up when I hear a very faint one aside from mine…coming from inside my body, too.

"A second chance."

All at once, the whole world shatters around me leaving behind shards and sand of gold before turning black. An instant later, I wake up with a heaviness to me that I can't begin to even move. My breathing heavy and shallow and my heartbeat thundering behind my ears, it takes me a few seconds to regain some notion of where I am. No longer in the vastness of the wheat field, I jerk up to sit on the bed as I start looking around, incredulous that I'm safe after what happened in that place. But what doesn't leave me any respite is what I heard a second before I woke up.

_It couldn't be._

Desperate to have my answer, I yank the blanket from my body and haphazardly place my hands across my scarred stomach.

_God. Don't let it be a lie. I couldn't take such a blow._

But the instant I give Heaven's Touch the order, the wave of energy travels through my body and bounces back. I hear everything in my body being wracked by the anxiety and adrenaline from my dream but everything moves to the background the instant I hear my heart.

It's the second much fainter beating that just breaks me as unshed tears pour down my cheeks.

"Reina, what's wrong?" Tyki's voice makes me turn to glance at him and the concerned that's etched on him kills me all over again with the emotions that overwhelm me. He wraps his arms around me and coddles me, thinking it was a nightmare that woke me so brusquely. "It's all right, Reina. I'm here with you."

_Yes, you are._

Not saying a word, my shaking hand grabs his from around me and places it on my stomach. Before he can even ask what I'm doing, I order Heaven's Touch to show him what it just showed me. His expression turns from bewilderment to utter disbelief.

Tyki's hold on me tightens and I see the glaze over his eyes from the tears he must be holding back. He can't speak for a few seconds but doesn't have to say anything. A choked laughter comes out of me as I release his hand and wrap my arms around his neck to hold him close. His hands shaking, he holds me so tightly that it hurts. But it doesn't matter. All I can feel is the overflowing happiness that fills me to the brim until I can't even choose between crying or laughing.

It's real. This isn't a dream.

_Both of you are here._

Katerina was right.

This is it. Our second chance.


	29. Chapter 29

_**Twenty-nine** _

**Steps Towards a New Beginning**

* * *

I have a newfound respect for Tyki.

It's already been a few weeks since the night I woke up after meeting Katerina, the same night that Tyki and I found out about my new pregnancy. To say that we are ecstatic would be an understatement. And the respect that I'm talking about for Tyki comes from the fact that he's been like a hawk watching over me despite his constant work. Every morning he reminds me not to go close to Sheril while every night he asks me how I'm doing. It's a bit smothering but I appreciate the gesture.

That we haven't said one word to anybody about this, though, has us somewhat at ease. We talked about it the night we found out and agreed not to say anything to anyone. Tyki wanted to keep this a secret for as long as possible so that no one could use the knowledge against us like they've done in the past. And although I know this won't keep those who can sense it like Apocryphos can away for long, I'm all on board for a full non-disclosure agreement until I start showing. That won't be until a good few months and we'll have to think about another way to keep me safe then.

One thing that I don't like about having my own guard dog with me 24/7, however, is that it's impeding me from searching for the Campbell Manor's location. Even though it might be better to simply tell Tyki and ask him about it, something tells me that I shouldn't. It's that same gut feeling that's always been with me, keeping me alive, and for now I think I'm going to flow with it. For as long as it's safe, anyway.

This morning, though, I think I caught a break. Tyki's new mission is sending him off somewhere for at least a couple of days and although he vehemently disagreed with it, he had no choice. He left early this morning and told me to not leave the room until he returned.

"It's our safest bet for now," he said and I agreed.

Not counting the fact that I was crossing my fingers behind my back. Now that he's gone I can go search for clues about this manor. And surely the Kamelot's who're close to the Millennium Earl and retain such a huge array of information must have something.

But as my morning quickly turns close to evening for my first day alone and after I've rummaged through a good two thirds of this damn library, I can't seem to find crap about anything relating to the Campbell family. Despite finding mentions of them here and there on official documents, they all lead me to dead ends. It's like any information of the Campbell family goes to perpetual black holes.

_Library isn't any good then._

But the rest of the evening just before bedtime is just as useless when I spend it searching elsewhere for any clue about them. This whole fucking day was truly for nothing.

Having skipped lunch and dinner, I don't really want to go to sleep but also knowing that the kitchen is closed for business, I'm debating whether or not to just go. My rumbling stomach and the fact that I'm also with child makes me drag my feet down to the kitchen. The eerie darkness makes all the corridors I go through seem pretty terrifying but that fear is quickly deterred when I reach the large kitchen.

Thankfully for me, it's as empty as I'd hoped it would be. Not wasting a second I ravage through the cabinets and find whatever it is I'm up to eating. It surprises me that even in my last pregnancy my cravings weren't really exactly cravings but more like a binge attack. Not accounting for my being a parasitic-type, I'm eating five times what I weigh in food…at least.

My lips press against the cool skin of an apple as a thought hits me. I reach down with my hand until I can touch my stomach and imagine for a second what it'll be like in three or four months when it extends and I can feel my baby moving inside of me.

_Not just mine. Tyki's, too._

That just makes me smile to myself at the thought of getting another chance at this. Of being able to experience motherhood and having a child to take care of. Surely, back in my world, I would've never thought about settling and having a family, especially at my age. A young woman of twenty-two like me would have spent her time better getting interviewed for medical school. The prospect of that had once filled me with joy and pride, one that I feel ten times over as I think about what my future will be with my new family. Yep, nothing could beat this.

But as I bite down on the apple to taste the sweet flesh of the inside, I can't help but worry once more about the world I'll be bringing them into. A world of war, death, and sadness. But I won't let fear or doubt about this world deter me anymore. I'm going to face it, head on this time, and change it myself.

" _Find this place where my sons—where my Nea and Mana lived. Here you can gain the power and wisdom to protect all, if only you dare to see the world and its people not for what they are but for what they could be."_

Katerina's words still ring true to me. I don't believe her to be a bad person despite not knowing anything about her. And it might be naïve of me to think this way but I believe she doesn't wish me ill. A mother like her, who's known the sorrow of losing her children, wouldn't deceive me.

I wish for the world she speaks of, the one that could be. A world of peace, of no hunger, of no untimely deaths, no violence, no sorrow. That's the world I want my child to live in. That's the world I want Allen and the other Exorcists, who have fought and sacrificed so much, to live in. That's the kind of world that I want the Noah to witness, to know that it is possible for it to exist.

It's possible for humans to coexist and live peacefully. It's possible for us to fight against what threatens the world and do better for ourselves. It's all possible.

_If only we try._

But I won't just try.

I'll succeed.

With new determination filling me to the brim, I toss the core of my finished apple towards the trash can that's nearby but groan when I miss it. Walking over to it, I bend down on one knee but don't catch my balance quickly enough when I slip. As a reflex, I reach out to grab onto anything that I can and catch one of the brooms that's lying around to break my fall enough for it not to hurt. What does hurt my eardrums is the ruckus that follows afterwards when the mops and other brooms that were lying nearby topple over like dominoes. They fall over each other and one catches the end of a candle holder and moves it up to the side. Curiously enough, it holds in place and it's followed by the shift and sudden pop of air next to me. Right beside me, my eyes catch the slit of darkness that appeared when the wall opened inwards.

_A secret passage. Like the one that I found near Sheril's office._

I had completely forgotten about that. So much had gone on that I haven't had the time to even go back. The fact that so many people passed around there so often also didn't give me much leeway to go explore. But that there would be more than just one entrance made sense especially if what's inside this manor is a whole interwoven tunnel system.

_More than one entrance means more than one exit._

And that also mean that they're hiding something under there as well. Peeking through the slit, I see nothing but pitch darkness. Standing back up, I grab the closest lit candle and take it with me as I tread into the space that's opened up. Once through I instantly feel a little claustrophobic. The hall's made so narrow that it only allows for one person to go through at a time. Not wanting to scare myself out of this, I take one step after another with one hand on my candle and the other against the wall as I make my way through the pathway. Darkness encroaches around me fast despite the entrance being a few feet behind me. No light from the kitchen pours in anymore and I'm only left with the small wick of a candle.

Slowly and carefully I tread my way through cobblestone stairs and smaller passages; the deeper I go the colder it starts to feel as well. It feels like an eternity later that I find myself in a large enough space to have my arms spread out before me. The liberty to move gives me a small sense of ease until I see that splitting paths have appeared. And although they're only three the dread I feel at seeing them doesn't disappear.

A mild panic sets in on me at thinking about choosing the wrong path by accident and it leading me to somewhere I don't want to be.

_Sheril's face would be the worst, in my opinion._

But before I can doubt myself further, my gut feeling from before urges me to look up to the left most passage. Why in the heavens would I even listen to it is beyond me but I do anyway and make my way through it. The paths become narrow again and I find myself going down more stairs. It's exhausting because they keep getting steeper and it makes me wonder just how deep below ground I really am. It's a few minutes later that I find myself at the bottom and on solid ground amongst a big open space. It's dark with nothing around and I have to step lightly just to assure myself I'm being careful.

I only take a few steps towards what I assume to be the middle of the room when I hear a faint noise. It stops me right in my tracks and my breath hitches with the fear that someone or some _thing_ is in here with me. I'm silently praying it's nothing but when I hear out for it again, I hear the faint sound of someone breathing.

Very shallowly. As if…in pain.

That instantly washes away my fear and instigates me to go after the breathing. I start slightly jogging but soon stumble against a flat surface that reaches up to my chest and pushes me back upon impact. I fall down onto my back, almost losing the candle, but I don't fail to hear the screeching of furniture.

Whatever I stumbled upon moved. Crawling to it, I reach out with my hand in front of me and feel what I think is velvet underneath my fingers. Following its silhouette with my hand, I help myself up with it and start feeling it to make it out, the light of the candle not being enough. It doesn't take me long to figure it out though.

_It's…the back of an armchair?_

My hand keeps moving around towards the top of the chair but the moment I do, I feel a tuft of hair that makes me draw my hands back and gasp at the unexpected sensation.

"Who…?"

My ears perk up when I hear a very quiet and hoarse voice speaking, the labored breathing from before becoming very apparent now. Walking around the armchair, my candlelight comes to shed light upon an old man with a very tattered uniform and I recognize him instantly.

"Book…man?"

The old man's breathing is heavy and I can see some bruises on him in the faint light. He lifts his head and glances at me with one fully open eye, the other slightly hooded.

"You're…that Exorcist…" he murmurs and wheezes making me cringe at how painful it sounded.

Putting the candle aside on the floor, I reach up with my hands and use Heaven's Touch to mend some of his injuries, at least the outer ones. I've only done it for maybe a minute when his hand comes up and grips my wrist.

"Don't." It's terrifying that I can feel his weakness from his shaking hand as he holds it. "He…will know."

_The Noah...? No, Sheril._

"I can't just leave you here, either. You're badly hurt."

"You must," Bookman replied. His hand slips from my wrist and lays beside him, his body lightly trembling each time he takes a deep breath. "I will…be fine."

The sudden thought of Bookman being here reminds me of the other person that was also supposed to be under Sheril's care for the three-month period. But with one simple glance around the room, I can tell he's not here and turn back to him. "Bookman, where's Lavi? If I can find him, I could heal him enough for him to esca—"

He scoffs and that surprises me. It didn't sound like an undermining remark but more like a defeated one. "He's long gone now." The statement is vague but I don't have time to think about it when I begin hearing a far off clanking. It makes me freeze and my lungs stop breathing for a second as it echoes down to us.

_Clank. Clank. Clank._

Someone's coming.

"Go."

He nudges me away with his hand but it does nothing when I recall some of his connections. I might be in danger and so may he, but he knows something I have to know.

"Bookman." _Clank._ "Please, tell me where the Campbell Residence is."

Bookman only stares at me with one eye from where he's seated. "What…?"

_Clank. Clank._

"Katerina Campbell, in a dream, she told that there's something in that mansion that will help me." _Clank._ It's getting closer. "Please, Bookman, tell me."

"I see," he breathes out, his voice getting softer. "You're her…proxy."

_Proxy?_

_Clank. Cl_ ank.

Shit. It's on this floor.

But out of nowhere, Bookman grasps the closest thing of mine, my hair, and painfully yanks me near him. Close enough to have his face next to mine, cheek to cheek. It's then that he speaks, they're a few words but I think that's all he can give before releasing me.

"And know…even a foreteller—can be wrong…" he whispers before laying his head against the chair.

Clank.

Fear takes over me and I quickly take the candle in my hand before jogging precariously back up. The narrow stairs seem never ending as I take them two at a time, even tripping and falling sometimes but not once stopping. My breath's gone and my lungs are burning by the time I finally see a bright slit of warm light coming from the exit.

_Yes, God!_

Basically tripping out of the narrow pathway, I turn and forcefully close the entryway shut. Now that I'm out, I just stand with my hands against the cobblestone wall and try to calm my breathing.

Not wanting to spend another second there, especially with how freaked out I am, I leave the kitchen and go directly to my room praying that I don't meet anybody on my way back. And thankfully I get back with no problem. The terror from the close encounter, though, keeps me awake for most of the night including the fact that I most likely left Bookman there to die. That single thought keeps me up until I can't anymore and I fall asleep from the exhaustion.

The next day I wake up feeling somewhat defeated. The lingering remorse of having left Bookman behind to God knows what wrenches my heart but I can't let that deter me. He said all those things to me at a very high price, some I still don't quite understand, but the parting words he left me with stick plainly out like a sore thumb.

_Even a foreteller can be wrong. What's that even mean?_

Because Bookman and I never really socialized during my short time at the Order, I wasn't even aware that he knew about what I am. But those words from last night proved otherwise. He knows exactly who I am, and more precisely the things that I am and the ones I am not capable of.

Like Nea, Cross, and Hevlaska told me before, a foreteller is someone that knows the outcome of the world and is able to change the paths that lead to the pithed points in the timeline but not the pithed points themselves. But I know that's not true anymore. Katerina told me herself that the powers I can gain can be mine only because I dare to see the world differently.

I don't see it as it is, headed down its predestined path.

The way I see it is outside of those tracks, able to be formed by the people.

" _Fate. Don't give me that crap. Fate doesn't exist."_

" _Perhaps you and I are at odds then."_

The lucidity of that one thought clears everything away from my mind. That's what is different…about me.

I didn't accept fate; my fate of being an orphan with such a screwed up life had been one I hated with all my being. It was what drove my desire to wish for another life in such a fantastical world. That desire was what drove Nea to choose me.

_But even I can be wrong._

And I was…but not anymore.

I know exactly what has to be done. Despite not knowing how this story ends or where everything's headed, there's no need for me to know. If I just continue as I've lived, then I can make it work. The things that must be done for it to happen, though…they're a lot and some quite dangerous.

My hand comes to my stomach but my determination doesn't falter.

I'm done waiting around letting the fate of this world drag me along with it. But this time, I'm not going to go against it. I'm not going to hate it for what it is.

This time around I think there's a much better way to work with the powers I've been given.

* * *

It's been three months exactly since the attack that happened at the North American Branch. And if I remember correctly, Tyki and the others will go find Allen soon in some town along with Kanda Yuu and Johnny Gill.

And I have to be there.

If what Bookman told me a couple of nights ago is true, then I can surely find the Campbell Residence. I just need one more thing.

I need to be there when that point in time happens.

_It'll be hard convincing Tyki, though._

He'd said something about the Earl wanting to go out to find Allen Walker the night he returned and that Wisely could very well look for him now. Seeing as Allen is probably engulfed by Nea so much, it might actually be easy to find them using the Akuma that can sniff out the Noah's presence.

The day comes when they're to depart and I wake up early and prepared to fight with Tyki for my way out. But when he comes out of the bathroom after showering, he's surprised to see me awake.

"Up early, lil' queen?" he asks toweling his hair dry. Now that it's short again, it seems to be much easier. And the fact that he's only wearing trousers that aren't even buttoned, his bare chest exposed, I have to concentrate a little to remind myself what I want to tell him.

"I'm going with you."

My words make him stop and he sighs heavily before turning up to look up at me. His eyes are pained but I can see the defeat in them. Wow, I haven't even said one thing yet, either. He comes closer and sits down beside me, resting his arms on his knees and his clasped hands against his forehead.

"I wish you wouldn't," Tyki confesses and the tone of his voice shatters something in me.

He's tired.

Not physically but…mentally. It's then that I remember him telling me about the awful time when I died. About how he was so afraid that it shook him completely to his core. The way that he spoke to me then is what I'm hearing now. He doesn't want me to go. Tyki's afraid of losing me again.

My hand comes up to touch his gently. He looks up from beneath his curls and smiles wryly at me. I reciprocate with a small one of my own and untangle one of his hands from his head before weaving my fingers through his. Tyki simply squeezes my hand before letting out another defeated sigh.

"But I think that having you with me, even now, will be safer than leaving you behind."

"I think so, too."

He leans back slightly before leaning up to me to capture my lips with his. The kiss is small and sweet, gentle and passionate. Soon he pulls back and lays his forehead against mine.

"I love you, Reina." A smile quirks up from my lips and I can't help but love this man that much more.

"I love you, too, Tyki."

I give him one last chaste kiss before standing up to head to the bathroom to shower, too. It doesn't take me long but when I get out, I find Tyki just outside waiting for me still without a shirt.

"S-Something the matter?" I ask, sheepishly covering myself with a towel.

"Can I help you?" he asks in kind and motions to the pile of clothes that I have neatly folded on the countertop next to the washbasin. The request is small and kind of cute so I give it to him. Stepping out of the shower, I let him dress me. Or at least that's what I expected.

But his hands didn't pick up my clothes and instead start touching my body, the water still on me making the sensation better. At first they're just against my arms, then they travel down onto my hips and thighs where they lay unmoving. A tiny bit of myself hopes that his hand keeps going and I'm not disappointed. Tyki brings his left hand down to my knee and up the inner side of my thigh until he reaches the apex of them. A moan comes out from my throat when he gently strokes me with the knuckle of his middle finger. He keeps doing it slowly and painfully, raising a fire below my stomach and leaving me wanting more.

"Looks like you wanted to, too." The sly comment and grin that he shows me have me somewhat confused and I look up at him. Tyki's grin simply widens, the sadness leaves his eyes, being overtaken by that familiar mischievous glint. "I'm not moving."

_Not…moving?_

When I finally process what he said but still fill the sensation of his knuckle rubbing against me, I notice that it wasn't him but me moving my hips against his hand. Immediately I stop but when I do he pulls me up to him, my breasts coming flush against his chest.

"Why stop now, my queen?" His finger comes closer into me—just a whisper away from being in me but not quite so.

"We have to leave—" my words and breath hitch when he lightly presses against my entrance. "In fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen, huh?" he asks with a hum in his throat. Without warning his hand leaves me before coming to pick me up by my thighs so that I'm straddling him, easy to carry. He bursts out of the bathroom holding me on one arm and doing God knows what with the other while I hold onto his neck for dear life. When he finally reaches the bed, he climbs on it with me still on his arm and sits down before letting me down in front of him.

It's then that my back touches something slick and wet that sends chills down my spine.

_So that's what he was doing._

A chuckle comes out of me and I can't help but think how truly absurd my life has become.

"What's so funny?"

Wiping a tiny tear from my eye, I turn my head to smile at him from over my shoulder. "How everything's turned out. Really, who would've thought that you and I would be like this."

"Like this how?" he asks, his arms underneath mine as he reaches to grasps my hands. Our fingers intertwine and I feel the largeness and warmth of them along with the heat that's coming from my back against his chest.

"Together." One of his hands comes undone from mine to hold my breast in it, his fingers caressing my hardened nipple. "In love." He buries his face against my neck, licking and nibbling, sending jolts of electricity through me. "With a child." His hand holding mine brings them both to where I'm throbbing and gently begin to touch me, but I'm at a loss as to whether it's just him or me too. "Soon to be a family of our own."

"Sounds like a fairytale, doesn't it?" he asks with a low chuckle.

"But it's not," I assure him and force him to stop for a moment. "Why can't you believe that?"

Tyki's arms suddenly wrap around me and hold me tight, his face still buried against my neck. "Because I've seen how easy it can break. At times…I've wondered why I even bothered keeping you. Why, despite trying so hard, I never destroyed you like I should have. You creeped into me like nothing ever before has and now you've become something I can't live without."

My eyes begin to sting with unshed tears at hearing his words. So filled with pain, with sadness, but most of all with love. Not wanting to let go, I hold onto his arms as they tighten even more around me and lay my head against his.

"Before everything, I always denied it. Thinking that if I didn't start anything, if I never did anything, then I wouldn't be able to lose something I didn't have. I thought 'If it's just going to wither and die anyway, then it's better to just do nothing.' But I couldn't." Out of nowhere, he pulls back and the sudden emptiness that he leaves shatters me. "Now I can't help but hate myself."

"No," I exclaim and try to turn to see his face but he quickly denies me that when he lays his forehead against my back. But when I feel small prickles from drops, I stop.

"You don't understand, Reina." My own tears start to fall down my face as I hear the pain in his voice. The pain enlaced through with the deep love that's searing through him. "I've never been afraid of anything in my life. But now…it's like I'm slowly dying from the fear. I don't want to lose you. I don't want to suffer…because I fell in love."

"I don't want you to suffer, either." I reach behind me to grab his hands in mine and hold them as tightly as I can. He might not want me to see him like this, and that's fine, but I won't let him drown in such senseless despair. "I love you too much to see you hurt because of me. I don't want either of you to ever suffer from losing me. I won't do that to you."

"You can't promise me that," he retorts.

"No, I can." His hand slightly tenses at my words and he remains quiet. "Because I won't let anything else happen. I'll always be with you, here." I reach up with his hand intertwined in mine and place it just above my chest, right over my heart. "And we'll live through this, all three of us, to live together. To love each other. And never again be afraid."

"You can't—"

"You love me, right?"

"With everything I've got."

"Then believe in me just as much, Tyki, and I promise that no matter what happens, you, I, and this child will survive this war. I'll do everything in my powers and beyond to make it happen. Nothing will stand between us. Not even God."

There's a slight pause before he breathes out a sigh and chuckles. "When did you become so strong?"

"Around the same time I figured that I loved you," I reply and smile. "And if it makes you feel a little more at ease, I'm afraid of something just as bad too." His head raises slightly and I simply continue. "What terribly scares me now more than ever…is having lived for so long without knowing this warmth. I never want to live again without you. I want to love you until the day comes that you say enough."

His hand comes undone from my hand and comes up to my neck and chin to tilt my head to the side as he lifts his head. Those dark mesmerizing pools of gold hold me in a trance and the passion I see in them fills me to the brim. "That day will never come."

"Then I'll love you forever," I say just before we lips meet.

It's gentle and loving, so much like him.

He's got me so distracted by this that I don't notice his legs coming under mine, his feet going over my ankles as he spreads me open. I try to pry away from his lips to protest from the slight embarrassment but he doesn't let go of my chin. The other hand slides under my thigh to hold my backside and lift me over him before slightly shifting and letting me fall, impaling me. I can't help but cry out slightly at the sudden feel of him filling me to the brim as he kisses the deepest part in me and I can even hear him groan deep in his throat as buries his face against my neck to play with it.

The hand on my neck slithers down to my breast while the other, still under my thigh, pulls me off just enough to let me drop again. My hands reach up to his on my chest and hold his hand tightly as he does this a couple of more times before I finally stop hurting so much. When he stops, I can't just sit there and start lifting myself up only to come back down to feel him again. He leaves it to me and I can't help but get impatient with my limited movement since he's holding back my legs.

"L-Let—go." My cries come out high-pitched and a groan comes out when he spreads them even further the instant I come back down.

Tyki's amused chuckle comes from deep in his throat when he reaches up to grab my neck and jaw with his right hand and move it directly ahead. My eyes are bleary and I can't see at first what he's trying to show me.

"But look, Reina…" I'm still thrusting him in me, harder and harder, when my vision finally clears and I see our reflection on the mirror just ahead of us that's clearly reflecting us. My cheeks dusted in red from the exertion and eyes wide while Tyki gazes lustfully at my reflection. His tongue drags along my ear, his hot breath so close against me as we're doing it, and I can't help but arch my back wanting the pleasure even more. "You're taking me in so beautifully. Truly a work of art, my queen."

"N-No _—ah_!"

My throat runs dry when he starts to thrust into me himself, accompanying me. And just the deepness of where he is ravages me with pleasure. My eyes instinctively open to see our reflection and I can't help the fire that's quickly pooling in me, wanting release.

_I want it…together._

"Reina…I'm—"

"Ty—ki-" I reach over my shoulder to bring his face up and kiss him, his tongue swiveling against mine seconds before I give into pure bliss. Tyki growls and thrusts in me a couple times more before I feel him climax too, the warmth feeling me inside adding to my own pleasure.

Neither of us move until I pull away from his lips to look him in the eye. Tyki gazes deeply at me before giving me a small chaste kiss.

"Look at us now," he chuckles and raises his head towards the mirror. "All dirty and no time left."

I chuckle myself at his nonchalant tone and lay my head against his as I stare at our reflection, a smile on my face. "If we shower together now, we can still make it out in time."

He nuzzles his face against my cheek and smirks. "If we shower together now, I won't let you leave for another hour."

"Oh well," I say and lay back against him. "What's another hour?"

* * *

"I don't even want to think about what kept you for so long."

"You don't have to," I say with a smile.

Wisely's frustrated groan makes me chuckle as he simply looks out the window of the carriage we're on. It's odd to be using a carriage to get to town but what's even stranger is the fact that the Earl is here, sitting next to Wisely and in that human form of his.

_Mana._

But I shake the thought from my head not wanting to think of something that could get me in trouble. Despite having Tyki here with me there's still some lingering fear I have about the Millennium Earl. Mostly, I think it stems from the fact that I know so little about him not only as the First Apostle, Adam, but as the person he was before.

Now that he's so absent-minded and with that far-off look, it just makes him that much scarier.

There's nothing but silence the whole ride there and I can't help but think that I'm suffocating. It's one thing to ride with Tyki and Wisely since I've gotten used to both their presences but the Earl, as quiet as he's being, just forebodes something that I can't pinpoint as of now. Before I can sink any deeper into this strange omen, the carriage halts not far off from the swarm of people that are going on loudly about in the plaza.

"Why did we stop?" I whisper and Tyki simply shrugs still staring out the window as well.

"We're waiting." My eyes come to look at Wisely at his words as he too stares out towards the plaza.

_For what?_

He only smiles. "You'll see." A sudden strain comes to him and he grimaces while holding the side of his head. "Ah, seems like Apocryphos showed himself not far from here."

A sudden fear strikes me at hearing that. My palms become clammy and my throat turns dry. Instinctively, I move closer to Tyki wanting to assure myself that he's here and that I'm okay, far off from that… _monster_.

Tyki's hold on my hand tightens to a slightly painful grasp that makes me wince. "Allow me to go, Earl. I'll pummel that thing back where it belongs."

"That would be ideal," Wisely added. "Though I'm not much of a fighter, I wish to see that thing gone, too."

"Millennium Earl—" But Tyki's plea is rendered quiet when the Earl lifts one hand to stop him. The two await his answer sternly. Although to me he just seems to be gazing out at nothing.

"Bonds. Desires. Mercym." _Jasdevi and Sheril?_ "Hunt that insolent blight down."

Despite speaking out in the open there's some shift in the air that tells me they've listened. They're on to hunt down Apocryphos and a part of me actually thanks the Earl for not sending Tyki away to do it. Filled with rage, who knows what stupid thing he'd do to kill it. And so long as I'm far away from that monster, I'll be happy.

"Joyd, Wisely. Go seek the boy out."

"Yes, Millennium Earl," the two answer in unison. Tyki's hold on my hand doesn't go away and he begins to pull me out when the Earl raises his voice.

"Leave the child."

"Earl—"

" _Leave_ the child."

Tyki doesn't let go but by the tone of his voice, I don't want to test the Earl as he is now. Using my hand, I undo his grasp around my other one and give him a small smile. "Don't worry. I'll be okay." By the look he gives me, he just wishes he could yank me out of the carriage. My gaze turns to Wisely for a brief second before my thoughts spill through.

_Wisely, please, take him before he gets in trouble._

"Tyki." Wisely grabs onto his shoulder making him glare at him over it. "Let's go."

_Thank you._

His jaw locks for an instant before he grudgingly releases my hand, giving me one last look before following behind Wisely. He leaves the carriage door open and it lets the breeze from outside come in. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, I let it cleanse my body and thoughts for a minute to calm myself down. I may be alone with the Earl but it's exactly what I wanted. There's nothing but silence until the Earl decides to speak.

"Your insolence never ceases to amaze me."

"I wouldn't call it insolence," I reply with a grin. "Audacity sounds better; don't you think?"

"I don't wish for any idle prattle," the Earl say with a blank stare.

"Really?" I ask and rummage through the bag that I brought along with me. "Then don't worry, I won't hold your attention for long. In exchange for one little talk, I'll give you these." In one hand I hold a ball of yarn and in the other two straight needles. His gaze turns slightly away from the window to me. "Deal?"

He remains quiet but instead of letting my fear cripple me, I act as if nothing's wrong. I pretend in my head that I'm just with some old man, an uncle perhaps, and raise from my sit and walk the short distance to sit next to him before passing the ball of yarn and the needles to him. He doesn't waste time and in a few minutes already starts with the base of a scarf. The craft seems to have calmed him down quite a bit, a small glint of something in his eyes, so I take my chance to speak then.

"Despite being who I am—someone outside your world and of a different time—there's a lot about your world that I don't understand. The silver linings of this war, if there are any, seem quite hard to see for me at least."

"We must bring upon the world and humans the Three Days of Darkness once again," he simply replies not taking his eyes away from the needles that masterfully go through his fingers. On the corner of my eye, I notice his fingers flinching for a second. _It's working._ "That's Adam's mission."

"Yes, Adam's, I understand that. I just don't understand why, though. Is it to destroy the Innocence that you fought 7000 years ago?" He doesn't answer that question and I sigh but it wasn't the question I wanted answered anyway so I keep going. "Whatever it may be, it's clear that there are two sides so far: The Noah, who wish to destroy the world, and the Heart and Innocence, who wish to save it. But the more I think about it the more I agree that that's not all there is to this world."

"What else is there to a world then?" he asks, and sounds somewhat childish to me.

"People," I reply. "Their hopes and their dreams. Their strife towards the future. And although there are those who are selfish and do horrible things upon the world, there are also many more who struggle to make the world a better place for everybody. And most importantly, there is the will that they have to keep living despite the hardships they find. It's my belief that that's the unseen force, the third party, that plays a role in this war and it's what lurks within both the Noah and the Black Order."

"Nothing lurks in my family."

"That 'nothing' seems to have caused quite a chasm in your family thirty-five years ago," I say and sense how the atmosphere shifts a little at my comment. Not my intention, what I want is to talk to _him,_ to _reach_ him so that he can hear me. And this is my best shot. "But you're right. It's not lurking, exactly. It's inherent in all humans. Even in your family and even in the Exorcists. All peoples living under the surge of the Holy War are not just soldiers or puppets, they hold a will of their own and by extent a mind to think with. They know that not all is white or black, they are aware that the world is worth saving. At least that's what I believe."

"You sound…very much like someone I knew."

That makes me chuckle slightly because I know who he's talking about. "She got me thinking about it actually. Made me realize that I've never really seen the world as it is, always striving against my pessimism to see it as it could be. Not the world of darkness you want, nor whatever war-free world the Black Order wants. When I think of the world, I think of a place that can struggle and live on its own, the people doing the same to not just survive as times progress but actually live."

"Is that what you wish to accomplish then? A world free of fate, free of your hand as a foreteller?"

_Free of my hand…_

"Yeah," I answer with a small smile. "I think that's it. A world where fate—or those like myself that have a hand in interfering—cannot change people and their lives. A place where, if it exists, Allen and the others would have the liberty to be the young adults they are and be free of the burdens of war. A place where Tyki wouldn't have to be torn apart by duty and his own desires, where Jasdevi could be together and never be separated again, where Wisely could be free of pain and with a family, and where Road, Sheril, and Tricia could be a really happy family."

"A pipe dream."

"Sure sounds like it, doesn't it?" I ask and lean my elbows against my lap before resting my chin on my hands. "But it's possible. Like you said, I am a foreteller. And as such, if I gain the power that truly belongs to me then I'll be able to erase the tracks that fate has set in motion."

"You intend to erase this world?"

"Not erase but I won't change it, either." The ruckus outside the carriage has begun to die down and I'm pretty sure I have only a few minutes before the others return. "That's not the part I wish to play. No, what I want is to sever the chains holding the wills of people stagnant. I'll sever them and with it all power that myself and those like me have upon the world and its people. _They_ will be the ones who will hold the power to change the world, _their_ world."

"You would doom the world to sink under the will of worthless beings? What a sad existence you are."

"Maybe," I agree. "But if the world is destroyed and falls to shambles or whether it blooms into a prosperous thing, I'll be satisfied knowing that it was done by the choices people made and not because it was meant to be."

"Then all these talk about pipe dreams and the like are nothing more than a self-serving ideal."

"I know, right?" I say standing up and turn to smile. "How human." A slight chuckle comes from him and that makes me extend my hand out, noticing the sudden stop of his needles. "Despite all that's happen, I'm glad I got to speak to you like this at least once. I'm Reina Amaro, by the way. Who might you be, mister?"

He raises his head, large eyes staring at my hand before coming up to gaze at my own. His hand reaches out, so large that it engulfs mine whole as he shakes it.

"Mana."

I share a smile with him and I see a small quirk on his lips. "Nice to meet you, Mana. I hope you don't forget what we talked about today and…that one day I'll get to speak to you again."

Releasing his hand, I come sit back down across from him and remain quiet as I watch him on the corner of my eye. He stares blankly at the hand I just shook, in his eyes a very warm shine until his whole expression changes. His eyes lose the light that had surfaced throughout our talk and he stares down at the yarn and needles, baffled at them as if it's the first time he's seen them. The Earl picks the needles up and continues to knit completely ignoring my presence.

_I hope I managed to set this in motion correctly._

Because if not, it'll cost the world much more than just my simple mistake.

The door of the carriage rattles a bit before opening. Wisely walks in and sits next to the Earl, a satisfied grin on his face until he notices what the Earl is doing. He turns towards me with an arched brow but I simply smile and shrug. Wisely sighs and sits back against his sit comfortably, closing his eyes. If I remember correctly, Wisely will contact Road soon before the Earl disappears to find Allen. Good. I just need a few more pieces to set.

"Where's Tyki?" I ask, nonchalantly.

"Out with Fiidora," he replies. "Was everything all right?"

"Everything's a-okay." A small yawn overcomes me and I lean my head against the carriage window, the coolness easing the raising headache I'm getting from thinking about so many things at once. "I'm somewhat tired, though. I might just nap a bit here."

"Tired, huh. Then perhaps you shouldn't have wasted an hour—" He raises a hand to stop himself from thinking about what he surely got from my and Tyki's head when we first left the mansion. "You know what, I'm not even going to go there. Just sleep. I'll be here to watch."

"Sure you will," I mumble and lay my head back before shutting my eyes. Although I see nothing but dark, I can still slightly figure where they are. None move from what I hear but when there's absolutely no moving, I chance a peak and notice that Wisely's completely concentrated, most likely speaking to Road. Opening my eyes fully, I glance at the Earl and notice the stillness of him. He's not even knitting anymore.

"What a cheeky little human you are to have snuck in like that."

The deep tone of that voice and the cackle that follows it sends chills down my spine. When I meet his eyes now, there's no longer any kindness like there was before when I spoke to him. Now there's this coldness and anger in them, a madness that's driving him.

_The Millennium Earl. He noticed._

"To have lured him out with such talk, your arrogance knows no boundaries."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say, my brow furrowed as I try to sink back into my sit. My eyes dart beside the Earl to look at Wisely but he's not disturbed by his loud voice. In desperation, I try to even shout at him through my thoughts but it's useless too. He's too far gone, already.

"Sure you do," he coos sweetly just like his usual self. "But whatever the reason may be, it'll do you no good. What you're trying to prevent is inevitable."

"You can't sacrifice the world, Earl," I confess. "I won't let you."

"You have no power, little girl." He raises from his seat and the most grotesque thing I've ever seen happens. His powers are curling around his human form covering a half of him with the clownish Earl as he glares at me. "Foreteller or not, you have nothing in this world. And you will never have anything."

Out of the blue, his hand reaches out quicker than I can see and his fingers brush against my abdomen just below my stomach. Terror washes over me like ice water coursing through my veins. My first reaction is to push him away but he won't budge. No matter how much I push or shove. I can't even scream. When I try, the words don't come out of my throat.

_Please no._

From his hand an eerie purple glow starts to emanate and I feel it against my skin; it feels like Heaven's Touch when its searching through my body. He must be doing the same but it feels _different_. "What a pretty little lamb your nurturing."

That he verifies it only aggravates my fear all the more. Dear God, no.

"Do not fret. I won't kill it." He reaches up and holds my neck in his hand, not forceful enough to cut my airway but hard enough to surely leave bruises. "The little _Isaac_ you are bearing will be a fine sacrifice to God."

_W-What?_

Before I can lose my composure, I glare back at him. "I won't let you hurt it. I'll kill you and anybody who dares touch my child."

The Earl laughs and tightens the grip on my jaw. "What you do won't matter. The moment you conceived the lamb you sealed its fate. You have taken the fidelity of one of my own, a lamb tainted by the world is a wasted sacrifice. But I will accept _Isaac_ in his stead; the flesh of Joyd's flesh."

Before I can even absorb all that he said, he releases me and turns away, the human side completely visible to me cries from his eye.

"Nea…"

There's nothing I can do as he barges out of the carriage following after whatever he felt. I stay seated for a few seconds longer trying to compose myself and regain some semblance of calm. It wasn't something I expected, the fact that even having this child would implicate something like its sacrifice.

" _The moment you conceived the lamb you sealed its fate."_

If its fate that also binds my child to die, then I'll sever them. I'll tear the chains of fate apart and release this world from them. It doesn't matter now what'll happen if I destroy the source of what gives me my powers and sense of being in this world. I might be a foreteller but, first and foremost, I am my child's mother. And I'll be damned if I don't do everything in my power to protect it.

Standing up, I reach over to Wisely who's still lost in trance. The Earl's gone, Wisely is still talking to Road, and Tyki will be here soon. Even if I tell him, this isn't something he can stop. It seems I'm the only one with the power to do this.

Not wanting to regret it any more than I already am, I grab the butterfly that has been attached to my necklace for so long. Once having been a collar—a symbol as the Noah's pet—it has become a treasure of mine that brought me back to this world. But at its source, it also did something else.

" _That's your tag. You go anywhere besides where you're supposed to and that Tease infused on the chain will alert me."_

_Please forgive me, Tyki._

Tearing the chain off from my neck, I let it fall upon the carriage floor before stomping down on the crystal butterfly. The instant it breaks, I feel something in me break, too, but I pay it no attention. I shouldn't doubt myself now.

Not when there's so much at stake.

Not when I still have much to do.

Not wasting another second, I exit the carriage and follow after the Earl's wake as fast as I can. I mustn't lose him. The place I must to go to, the people I want to meet, the things I want to change; I'm sure I'll find my answers there.

Along with the power to free them all.

* * *

"Hey…"

Silence.

"Hey…"

He was _really_ not in the mood for this.

" _ **Wake up, Wisely!"**_

At Tyki's shout, Wisely jolts awake and irritated beyond belief. The young boy couldn't help but be peeved at being bombarded with useless question like where the Earl was. When Tyki shouted at him again with the question, Wisely couldn't keep himself from shouting back.

" **I said, right next to me!** Knitting…"

But the seat next to him was as empty as could be except for a half knitted scarf, the needles stuck on the ends of it.

"I was a moron for leaving him with you," Tyki says, tired of having to deal with such people. He quickly starts mouthing off Wisely to find the Earl with his Demon Eye after Fiidora informs him that the twins, Sheril, and Mercym have captured Apocryphos.

But his anger quickly drains into cold fear when after searching for her, Reina isn't anywhere to be found.

"Wisely, where's Reina?"

"Huh?" he growled, trying hard to pinpoint the Earl's position.

" _ **Reina! Where is she?"**_

"Rei—" His eyes widen at recalling something while he was speaking to Road. A voice, scared and petrified at the back of his mind, calling for help.

_Wisely…please!_

She'd been calling to him through her thoughts.

"Wisely!?"

"I-I don't know!" Wisely answered and ran his hand through his matted hair. "S-She was calling to me, I think. But I couldn't answer her, she must've ran off."

"You useless—" but Tyki didn't finish his thought and instead ran back to the carriage to see if she left behind anything. There was nothing to find until the light from the window refracted to hit something on the carriage floor. Glancing its way, Tyki's eyes widened at seeing Reina's gold necklace strewn on the floor along with the remains of the broken butterfly charm that had been attached to it.

His fingers curled around the chain to pick it up to his eyes to make sure. There was no mistaking it, though, it was hers. He frowned not wanting to let his mind go to the worst scenario. Reina had promised not to do reckless things again. Never anything that would risk herself or their kid.

_There has to be an explanation._

"That's right." Tyki turned to Wisely as his face contorted in concentration. "The Earl. I vaguely heard them talking. It could be possible that she's with him."

"Then find him. Now," Tyki ordered and placed the chain in his pocket.

* * *

The people are in full commotion as I pass them through the streets of town. There's been a destructive wake all over town from what I think was the fight with Apocryphos. But I don't pay that much heed and instead keep following my gut to where the Earl was surely now with Allen.

No, with Nea.

Going down the alleys, I hurry through a narrow one before I come across a pretty destroyed pair of buildings, the floor beneath them cracked and full of craters. Standing face-to-face are the two I've been looking for. Allen's hand is gently on the Earl's cheek while Crown Clown crackles threateningly by his side.

I'm too far away to hear whatever it is they're talking about but it's not important. All they have talked about I already know. It's what I read in my world. The last one that I remember reading. From now on, it'll be me and my wits against this world's fate.

When the Earl suddenly starts backing up, confused, I ready myself for what's to come. A surge of power explodes from the Earl when his mind starts to falter but before Allen can do anything many talisman barriers hold him in place.

_This is it. From this point on, it's free for all._

But since I'm not about to take a sudden leap into the unknown, I let the events unfurl as they will for now. Besides, my only goal is to follow behind him.

"We're from the Black Order!" one of the Finders exclaims. "Surrender, Allen Walker!"

Great. They've caught him, just what I needed. But it doesn't last for long. The Earl starts to go berserk killing all the Finders, a tendril of white shooting through them and turning them into small particles. More shoot out at the poor man that stays behind despite Allen yelling at him to run. Despite being so far to hear what they're talking about, I can still feel the earth shake as the Earl's anger ignites his powers further and more white tendrils come out aimed at Allen.

Before there's anything else for me to think, I threw out my hand and a compacted shield appears around him but my shield isn't what stops them. It's six CROW needles that plunge deep into them and stop them in their tracks. Turning towards the alleyway, I'm surprised to see that man, Howard Link, stepping from the shadows and using countless of talismans to bind the Millennium Earl down in place while another needle liberates Allen from the tendrils binding him down and my shield.

The large sphere of energy that the Earl is and that's being held back by the spells from Link is terrifying in power. The sphere opening and shrinking quickly, like lungs trying to expand but unable to. If there ever was a time for running away, this would be perfect.

The moment I see a row of talismans wrap around Allen's body and begin to lift him off the ground, I run with all I've got towards him and reach him just as he's gone, catching him by his ankle. The energy from the talismans hurts me, a trace of electricity circulating my body, but Heaven's Touch rapidly goes to work wrapping a protective shield taut against my whole body. It flies us off towards a far off building and when I see we're about to land, I release his ankle before falling to tuck and roll as safely as possible. I slightly lose my footing when I come back up and almost crash into a chimney; had the sphere not popped up when it did, I would be unconscious.

_Thank you._

A whistling in the air makes me turn just in time to see a needle crash against my shield. I glare at Link for the stupid action but his ineptitude isn't what's much of a worry right now. It's the talismans that start to go around my bubble that really bother me.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be," I tell him with a tired sigh.

Link raises from checking on Johnny before aiming one of his needles my way. "You're that Exorcist, Reina Amaro; You're here hunting Allen Walker down."

"Correction." My hands come up to my sides and expand my shield against the talismans. The force is enough to make energy crackle between them until Heaven's Touch works and dispels the bindings around me. "I'm here to _accompany_ this little shit."

"Link?"

My heart stops at hearing Allen's voice again after so long. We both turn to face him as tears start to build in his eyes. It wrenches my heart to see him like this but I know better.

"It's really you, Link. You were alive, huh…" The tears finally fall down his face as he holds tightly onto his injured shoulder. "Thank goodness…"

But it seems Link isn't the least bothered and instead checks his injury. They completely ignore my presence as he tells him that this isn't a good place to stay for long. Link lifts his hands, the last three fingers upright, and speaks.

"Come out, Atuuda."

The catfish or…whatever it is comes out and attaches itself to Allen's shoulder and when it comes off the injuries are completely gone.

"Link?" _Augh, this is irritating as hell._ "What are you…"

"By the way," Link says, halting his sentence. "There's no need to pretend to be Walker in front of me." He doesn't let Allen explain anything and instead goes on to explain how he can see he's acting because of his 'ki.'

_So he_ did _notice, too._

"Wait. Eh…?" _Oh this is getting old._ "What are you talking about, Link? I'm not pretending. I'm still Allen Walker…"

"Oh just stop it already!?" I shout and raise my fist to punch him right on the face, sending him flying off towards the chimney I almost crashed in before.

"What the hell, Reina!" he shouts holding onto his reddened cheek with an annoyed expression.

"You noticed it, too?" I ask Link while not taking my eyes away from Allen for one instant. "That killing intent that's practically seeping from him."

Link doesn't seem too fond of me but he finds it necessary to answer. "Yes. All I can feel from him is a cold, murderous intent. Completely different from the Allen Walker I know."

I click my tongue unable to believe this asshole thought me, if not us, that stupid. Coming towards Allen, I don't mind the footsteps I hear follow behind me. Stopping just in front of him, I place my hand on my hip and scowl at him.

"You're the 14th, aren't you?"

The question goes unanswered, at least verbally. What does answer my question is the sudden change in personality that we see come over Allen's face. No, this isn't Allen in control anymore. It's Nea.

"Ki, huh. Indeed, it seems I can't hide it from either of you." He gives us a petrifyingly adoring smile that sends a chill down my spine but I don't falter as I see Link slightly do beside me. "So? What are you guys going to do about it? Link, you seem like a bit of a pain to me, so I kind of want to kill you… As for Reina, well, you seem to have come here with your own goals in mind."

"Yeah," I answer, not losing my scowl. "Kicking your ass senseless being one of them." The needle that threateningly lies next to my throat doesn't faze me as I feel the glare that Link sends my way. "Don't think your guard dog's going to let me though. So I'll settle with the punch I just gave you for now."

"You don't seem scared," Nea retorts with a scoff.

"That's because you don't scare me." His eyes narrow on me and I wave his acerbic scowl away. "But that's not why I'm here. The reason I am is to cash in that favor you owe me."

"Favor?" he calls in quizzically.

"You said it yourself a long time ago. We're mutually working on this scenario. You brought me here with that in mind and even said that you didn't wish me any ill will."

"That was when I needed you to get the body I wanted," he replies. "Now that I have it, there's no more use for you."

"Oh is that so?" A cocky grin comes to my lips as I raise one finger for emphasis. "I don't think you'll think that way after you've heard what I just put in motion." He arches a brow at that and his incredibility just amazes me.

"And what would that be?"

"Not telling you." My finger comes up to the needle still pointed against me and lower it with much force. "But I will, eventually. Until then I'm cashing in that pro bono you offered me; as I believe, you heard me before when I said that I'm accompanying you."

"There isn't any merit in you joining us," Link adds and I hear Nea cry out 'you don't have any, either?!' but ignore him completely to turn to the CROW before me.

"Look, two dots. I don't know what crazy martyrdom mission Lvellie sent you on and I frankly don't give a damn about it, either. Neither do I care about the plans that the Order, the Noah, or even Mr. Asshole here have. All that matters to me is doing what I came here, to this world, to do: my job."

Nea chuckles beside us and this shit-eating grin comes to his lips. "You're finally accepting your fate as a foreteller?"

That statement in itself makes me want to laugh but all that comes out is a smirk of my own. "I'm not accepting squat. I'm going to override my fate and change this world."

"Change it?" Link repeats.

"You know what I mean," I tell Nea with a nudge of my chin. "The things that I can do with the powers that I can get."

"The chains, huh?" he ponders with a sigh. "Even if you obtain that power, there's no way for you to sever them. They're not even visible or tangible to the human world."

"On that you're wrong." This piques his interest enough to smile kindly at me. Despite this though I still feel the horrible sense of dread that he brings me. Having him in the flesh truly is different that hearing him in my head.

"How so?"

"Won't tell. Just take me with you where you're going."

"You don't even know where it is I'm headed."

"Doesn't matter. I'll still go."

Nea doesn't speak until he sighs defeated. "You truly wish to release this world to itself?"

My smirk only widens when I recall words from long ago. Words that a certain someone told me one night in woods frozen solid. The night it all started.

"You told me so yourself: I wanted my life to change. And it has. Now, I want to live for a better tomorrow, not just for me but for this world, too. And I'll succeed."

"Such brave words spoken based on the pipe dreams of a little sick-minded girl," he added with a grin of his own.

"You're the one that cherry picked this sick-minded girl for the job." _Proxy or not_. "And whatever you saw in me then, I see it now, too."

Nea lets out a sigh that's hard to distinguished as relieved but it's certainly close. He chuckles and scratches his head idly. "What a foreteller you've turn out to be. But you won't ever be able to safe everyone. That I'm here as I am proves it. Because if either of you came to save Allen, it's too late for that now, you know."

That sends a tick to my jaw but I ignore it when I see Link kneel down before Nea. He tells him of the mission that I knew he was sent here for, about Cross and Lvellie forming some kind of pact, and the fact that he intends to protect the "14th" as his new ally.

"Please use my life as you wish."

Nea backs off with a sickened expression on his face. "Ack, scary."

A tired and irritated sigh escapes me as I witness what I have to look forward to following this pair of idiots. My heart wrenches as the words he said repeat over in my head.

" _Because if either of you came to save Allen, it's too late for that now, you know."_

But I don't believe that.

The little beansprout is stronger than that. Even if it'll cost him his everything, he won't let Nea have his body, not without a fight. I believe he'll come back to us. And when he does, I'll be there by his side to help him.

If what I've deduced out is right, then all that I've put in motion will come into play once he returns. Once Allen is back then I'll let the pieces play where they have fallen. That's the last I'll do as a foreteller. The last hand I'll play in this world before I completely sever its connections to its fate and leave it to the actual people who live in it take the reins.

Until then…I'll ride this crazy train.

My hand reaches up to my stomach and send a small prayer up to whatever God there is and mostly to my child.

_Please watch your mother, little one. I'm going to do my best to change this world that you'll be born into. And when you see it, you'll be amazed at what we've done. That's my hope, the one that I intend to make a reality._

* * *

_**Epilogue** _

* * *

A haze came over his view and the crystal ball in front of him clouded. The small hands held onto it so tightly as his stomach turned.

All this time able to see everything as it unfurled only to have it stop now. He wanted to know how everything went. The anxiety was practically killing him. The young boy, perhaps of seven or eight, laid his chin against the crystal sphere and frowned. His bright emerald orbs stared out at the horizon before him as he sat at the edge of a cliff, a vast forested area beneath his feet; unruly strands of his black hair fell over his eyes, one with a befitting mole under it, curling becomingly around his tanned face while the rest fell around him on the floor braided into a thin plait.

None of what he had seen made any sense to him; all he had witnessed fell nowhere in place. The pieces of the puzzle he so fervently wanted solved were still laid all around his head, skewed. But he wasn't about to give up.

Surely there must be a way to meet her.

To go to that _place_ and stop everything.

After all, his were the strangest powers they've ever seen.

He wasn't capable to phase through solid objects per se. His connection to any one place—any one world—wasn't strong either. But could it be that simple? The source of his powers…just an oddity that occurs once every full moon as they say?

"Nicolas."

Hearing his name, the boy turned and found his companion. The girl stood behind him with a wicked grin on her face, her bright eyes pools of molten gold. Her dark skin glowed under the sunset and the marks that laid across her forehead were the only distinction he really saw. Her attire was more eccentric that his; a white dress that barely covered her with black here and there.

The older girl came over to him and laid herself against his back, leaning her chin against the top of his head.

"Nothing yet?"

"The scenes vanished again. But surely once I gain a strong enough connection, I'll be able to jump. We'll get there for sure this time."

"That's what you said the last five times," she complains with a wave of her hands. She raises and comes to sit next to him, her transparent feet dangling over the edge.

"Your form…"

"It's weak anywhere other than my world," she replies, staring at her hands that are also transparent. "Your energy's been a real help in keeping me in a solid shape. But you know already that I can't remain here much longer. I'm still weak."

"Then go back to the nether realm of yours or whatever it is," Nicolas tells her grudgingly. "At least there you won't bother me."

"Aww, someone's pouty~" She leans against his shoulder and pokes at his cheek. "Eager to see her?"

"Eager to stop this," he retorts. "You need to go back to your world. And I need to stop what's happened in mine from happening again."

"Mm, an impossible mission, don't you think?" she asks. "After all, where there's death, there will always be death."

"I'll stop it. So worry about your thing and I'll worry about mine, Road."

"How uncute of you," Road coos with a smirk. "Just like your mother."

"Not an insult."

"It should be."

"She's a wonderful person."

"Stubborn as a mule."

"So's dad and you don't say squat about him."

Road smiles then. "What can I say against family?"

"Plenty considering who you are, _auntie_ Road."

"Blegh!" she complains instantly, sticking her tongue out. "Don't _ever_ call me that again. It's horrifying!"

"Not as much as how old you really are, hag."

"I'll snap that pretty mouth off your face, Nico."

"Gouge out my eyes, better. At least that way, I won't get to see you all wrinkly and stuff. God forbid I ever see _that_ nightmare."

Road can't help but frown. "You're no fun. I should've never picked you up lost as you were."

"Didn't ask you to. I would've been fine by myself. Always have been." He grasps the crystal ball and watches as the last rays of sun hit it, leaving it with a greenish hue. "It seems to me that you're the one that actually needs me to get back to your world."

"Humph, don't think so much of yourself. You're just a glorified portal."

Nico doesn't answer as he starts to feel the familiar stir in the air. Wanting silence, he closes his eyes and when he opens them back up the world around him changes. Instead of a colorful scenario, all he sees are the different dimensions of the world. Like layers, he could see the earthly plane of the world they currently were at, the conscious or spirit plane where Road currently clung on, and the one that mattered most, the gridded dimension. The one that showed him the connections that this world had with the countless of others connected to it.

All are different. All exist parallel to each other. Except when they don't. Those were the disturbances he was able to see. The ones that interrupted the flow of all worlds and caused all sorts of phenomena. The same ones that triggered his powers.

Finding the source of this particular disturbance, he channels it through his body and sees the moment in time that this world was connecting to with the other. They were never ones to his choosing and they were never consistent, but this one was exactly what he needed.

The haze in the crystal ball cleared and Road leaned over to see the images in it. A proud smile then spread across her lips.

"You found it."

"Hold on."

Road didn't think twice to listen to his call and held onto his shoulder. Nicolas only took a deep breath and prepared himself for what was to come next.

And just like that they disappeared.

**Author's Note:**

> First time posting on AO3~ Not my first story though. Been writing since '08 in FF.net and now that I've caught wind of AO3, I wanted to try publishing for a new audience. For now, since I'm just learning how this works, it'll be some slow update. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the first chapter and stay tuned for the next update!


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